Cadere
by Hibernian Princess
Summary: Halt has always had everything that Ferris wants-the crown of Clonmel.  And now, there's the matter of their new Toscan tutor, who accidentally shakes things up even further.  Rated T for slight violence and thematic elements. Complete.
1. Pressure

**A/N: Here is my latest RA fanfiction! I'm very excited about this one, as I don't think the idea's been done before-which brings me to several things that I need to address before I begin.**

**From book 10, I gathered that Tosca is basically the equivalent of Italy in the world of **_**Ranger's Apprentice**_**. In a great whirl of inspiration while reading book 8, I decided to write about someone from Tosca, since I love Italy/the Italian language. The "Toscan" bits in here should be correct; I've been studying Italian for almost two years, but if you do catch any mistakes (aside from the intentional ones that I make with Halt and Ferris), please point them out.**

**Which brings me to something else. You'll note that the first time Halt speaks Toscan, there are no spelling mistakes, though his tutor comments on his poor pronunciation-yet when he goes for his next lesson, words are misspelled. I did this intentionally-since I didn't offer a translation the first time, I figured that it'd be best to keep everything spelled correctly for translation purposes. The second time, since everything is translated, I put the spelling mistakes (indicating poor pronunciation) in.**

**Also, Araluan=the common language (I believe it goes by that name in the books, but again, if I'm wrong, please correct me). And the title of this story (**_**Cadere**_**), means "to fall" in Italian. Eventually you'll see how that ties into the events of this fic. :)**

**Wow, that was a lot to say. Either way, I hope you enjoy the story! I cannot wait to hear your feedback!**

* * *

><p>Halt trudged through the halls of Dun Kilty, dreading his Toscan lesson more than normal. His parents had announced that he and Ferris would be given a new tutor, as the old one had retired in his old age. Of course, this meant that the O'Carrick twins would have to be reassessed-a tedious process that would probably involve speaking-Halt's least favorite part of Toscan. It really would never be of use to him-Araluan was the most common language and would probably be used for any legal matters.<p>

As was expected, Ferris was already seated at a table in the library, tapping his foot impatiently. Unlike his brother, he was rather excited to meet their new tutor. Ferris looked up at Halt and was about to make some unnecessary remark, but before he could do so, a young woman, her arms full of parchment, ink, quills, and books, sat down at their table, her chestnut hair pulled back into a bun. "I apologize for my lateness," she said. "_Mi chiamo Lia Bisharra e sono la nuova istitutore di toscano_."

Halt and Ferris blinked rapidly-they'd been studying Toscan for a few years now, but their previous tutor had never spoken it so easily. It was clear that she was a native speaker. _Excellent_, thought Halt dryly. _Now she's going to try and teach me her language when she can barely speak mine._

"_Per favore, mi dica chi è Ferris e chi è Hal_t," the tutor requested.

"_Sono Ferris_," said Ferris, giving her his typical winning smile that made Halt feel ill.

"I'm Halt," the other twin provided.

Lia looked at them both, matching the faces to the names. "Ferris, Halt, Ferris, Halt, Ferris, Halt," she murmured, her eyes flicking between the twins.

She sat down, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "I thought that I would assess both of you today before I began teaching. Please tell me a bit about yourselves...in Toscan," she told them. A Toscan accent was noticeable when she spoke Araluan, but she spoke the language as clearly as anyone else.

_At least I'll be able to understand her_, Halt thought, relieved.

The boys began pulling out parchment, quills, and ink-Ferris with more zeal than Halt-when Lia stopped them. "I want you to tell me," she ordered. "It is not difficult to write in another language-you have much time to think. Speaking is different-it will immediately show me your skill with the language."

She waited patiently for either one of them to speak. Ferris, who was always the more personable one, began.

"_Sono Ferris, il principe di Dun Kilty, Clonmel. Mi piace...essere con la gente, imparare...e...e...cose belle_."

He paused for a few moments, biting his lip in thought, before continuing, "_Anche, ho un fratello e un sorella. Ho capello scuro e occhi...occhi marrone. I miei genitori sono le monarchi di Clonmel...e...e...e...e mi incanta la lingua toscana_."

Ferris grinned, very pleased with himself. Lia simply nodded at him, showing no sign of emotion. "Thank you, Ferris," she said curtly before turning her attention to Halt.

"_Sono Halt ed abito in Dun Kilty, Clonmel con miei genitori-il re e la regina-mio fratello, e mia sorella. Ho capelli ed occhi scuri. Oddio essere dentro di il castello_," said Halt quickly.

"Thank you, Halt," she said to him, her tone still professional. "From what I have heard, I think that it may be best to tutor you two separately," she began. "Both of you are well off with vocabulary and your basic grammar was mainly good. However, you each have different problems.

"Ferris, your mouth is often ready before your mind is. Sometimes, you forget to make sure that the gender and number of your noun and article agree-you said _un sorella_ instead of _un_a_ sorella_, and _occhi marrone_ instead of _occhi marroni_. Articles are not to be placed with possessives when the person of possession is an immediate family member; for example, _miei genitori_ would have been correct, whereas_ i miei genitori_ was not."

She paused to think for a moment before continuing, "I was not aware of the dark hat-_capello scuro_-that you have."

The younger twin looked away, slightly embarrassed by his mistake-he'd meant to say _capelli scuri_-dark hair. "Lastly, I would not expect either of you to know this, but in Tosca, we do not say _mi incanta_-it is said _m'incanta_," Lia finished.

Ferris felt quite uncomfortable-he hadn't expected Lia to be so critical. No matter-he wouldn't mind it if he had to spend some extra time with his new tutor.

"Halt," she began, "when _di_ and _il_ are used together, it becomes _del_. Aside from that, I need only address your pronunciation, which is having a severely negative impact on your speech."

He nodded once in acknowledgement of what she'd said. Ferris, however, was not so willing to accept his fate as a mediocre Toscan student. "Lia," he said, scooting his chair oh-so-slightly towards her, "was there _anything_ that I did correctly?"

She stood, drawing herself upward, making herself appear very much in control of the two boys. "Both of you did many things admirably. However, if one is told one's strengths, these strengths will occasionally be of more focus than the weaknesses," she informed them.

Halt was only half-listening to her as she spoke-partially because he cared very little about Toscan and partially because he noticed that Lia's attention was also diverted from her speech. She was cautiously sliding her chair away from Ferris with her foot. "That is why you will not often hear praise from me," she clarified.

She sat once again, her chair now a safe distance from both of the boys. "Do either one of you have additional questions?" she inquired.

"How would you say my name in Toscan?" Ferris wondered, smiling.

"Hmm," Lia mused. "Ferris." She paused, thinking hard. "I do not think that your name can be translated into Toscan, but if you were to travel to Tosca, your name would be modified, perhaps to _Ferriso_."

"Ferriso," Ferris repeated, rolling the word around on his tongue.

"Contrastingly," she continued, "it is very easy to translate 'Halt'-and it is necessary, as we do not say 'h' in Toscan. In Toscan, you-" she gestured to Halt, "would be _Fermata_ or perhaps _Fermare_."

Halt didn't reply. "Anything else?" Lia wondered.

When she was greeted with silence from both Halt and Ferris, she informed them, "Very well. I will speak with your parents and we will set up times for your lessons. Thank you for your time; you are free to go now."

Ferris and Halt began to gather their things. Naturally, Halt was ready to leave before Ferris, who had been somewhat distracted by Lia's presence. "Halt, may I speak with you momentarily?" Lia asked the older twin softly.

He looked up, letting her know that she had his attention. Ferris also stopped and, listening. "Please proceed, Ferris-I have nothing more to tell you," she told him firmly.

Ferris finished gathering his things and left, while Halt sat, waiting impatiently for Lia to say something. "Halt, as I'm sure you noticed, your grammar is quite superior to Ferris's," she began. "However, your pronunciation is in need of a lot of work, so I believe that, until it improves, I will need to tutor you separately."

Halt wasn't embarrassed; he'd always known that his pronunciation was poor, but it frustrated him that he would be spending even more time on Toscan because of it. "That all?" he asked.

"Yes. You may leave," she told him crisply.

Halt left the library quickly, frustrated with the new Toscan tutor who was apparently intent on making him miserable. Of course, the fact that she was actually from Tosca wouldn't help the process-it'd just make her more critical, since she'd grown up around people whose Toscan was nearly flawless. Halt groaned inwardly, already weighed down by all the work he expected from his new tutor.

* * *

><p>Lia was sitting in the library, looking over the short paper that Ferris had just written for her. In one lesson, she had managed to correct the majority of his minor grammatical problems. His desire to learn the language had made him an easy student to teach.<p>

His brother, however, appeared to be a different story. Halt had an excellent memory and could speak with very little effort, but it was clear that he had no interest whatsoever in the Toscan language-or its correct pronunciation.

She continued to ponder the vast differences between the twins as she edited the paper, barely thinking as she circled, corrected, and commented on Ferris's mistakes. At one point, she glanced up and saw that Halt was sitting at the table, looking very impatient. "Oh!" she exclaimed-either he'd appeared very quietly or she'd been quite absorbed in Ferris's paper. "I apologize-for how long have you been waiting?"

"Long enough," he replied rather sharply.

Lia's eyes flashed briefly. "I know that I am of a lower rank than you and that I am not much older than you are, but I do not want to hear you speak like that without good reason- 'good reason' being if I say or do something that is completely...what do you say...something about a line..." she pondered, searching for the expression.

"Out of line?" he offered.

"_Sì_," she confirmed. "Do not speak to me like that again unless I say or do something completely out of line."

Halt, feeling sufficiently chastised, nodded his acknowledgement. "I understand," he replied.

"Very well. I thought we would begin with your pronunciation today. I will say a sentence and I would like you to repeat what I say in Toscan," she stated.

"My eyes see games," Lia began.

Halt looked at her, slightly confused. "I know exactly what I am saying," she clarified.

"_I miei occi vede giochi_," said Halt.

"Oh-KEE, not oh-CHEE," she corrected him. "The women dance gracefully."

"_Le done balano con grazia_."

"_Balllllllano_, not _balano_," she amended, emphasizing the extra "l." "The same is true for "women"-it is _donnnnne_, not _done_. Double letters can be very important."

She paused briefly before saying, "Blue is the color of the sky."

"_Blu_-"

"No," she cut him off. "Perhaps I should have said that in another way. _Azure_ is the color of the sky."

"_Azuro è il colore dil ci-elo_."

"_Del_, not _dil_," she said. "And in _cielo_, the vowels run together-CHAY-loh, not chee-AY-loh. In Toscan, the letter 'z' is very soft, like 's.' And Halt, I cannot tell you enough about the importance of double letters in Toscan-_hold_ them," she continued empathetically.

"Why on earth are double letters so important?" Halt muttered sullenly. "It's just the same thing twice in a row."

"I will explain. Imagine that you are in Tosca and are being served dinner-a very well-known pasta dish called _penne rigate_. If you enjoyed it, you might tell your host..." she trailed off, prompting Halt to practice his Toscan.

"_Mi piace il tuo pene rigate_," Halt said.

Lia discreetly hid the grin that was spreading across her face as she explained, "Well, I would be very curious to hear what your host would say, since you've now told him that you like his striped penis."

Halt did his best to hide any bit of emotion that would flash across his face, though the attempt was to little avail-he was blushing quite obviously. _At least she told me now_, he thought grimly. "Thanks, Signorina," he told her.

"Lia will work nicely," she told him. "And it is my job to make sure that you do not make such mistakes. Now let's try again."

"_Mi piace il tuo pennnnne rigate_," Halt repeated.

Lia nodded her approval. "_Bellissimo_. Now, I'd like to hear how you say my name-the whole thing, per favore," she requested.

"Lia Bishara," Halt said.

"_Bisharrrrrrrra_," Lia corrected him, trilling the "r" more than she normally did.

Halt tried to imitate the sound, but it just garbled in the back of his throat and made it sound as if he was choking. "Open your throat as if you were about to sing," suggested his tutor.

"I don't sing."

"Very well. Then open your throat as if you were about to yell in horror," she amended. Once Halt looked ready, she added, "Try it again now."

"_Bisharrrra_," he said, trilling the "r" perfectly.

Once again, Lia bobbed her head, acknowledging that she was satisfied. They did several more pronunciation exercises, all of which Halt hated, but participated in-after Lia had shown him how drastic a tiny mispronunciation could be, he wanted to be a bit more cautious. He wasn't very familiar with Toscan customs, but Halt figured that accidentally bringing up a man's private areas wouldn't do any good for foreign relations.

* * *

><p>"You've shown a lot of improvement," Lia told Ferris as he sat down before her. She'd been tutoring the O'Carrick siblings for approximately a month and was very pleased with what the young princes were doing. Their previous tutor had been excellent, but Lia was still finding little quirks in Halt and Ferris's work that wouldn't be present in the writing and speech of a native Toscan-which was only to be expected; a native knowledge of any language couldn't be emulated, no matter how adept the teacher was.<p>

Ferris, unlike his tutor, was highly dissatisfied with his progress. Lia was even more critical of his work than she had been before-and Halt was having extra lessons with her, supposedly to help his pronunciation. Secretly, Ferris envied the extra time that his brother got to spend with Lia-he would've gladly taken on a bit more classwork in order to spend more time around the beautiful young Toscan woman. _Seven minutes and he gets the throne _and_ our impossibly attractive tuto_r, Ferris thought bitterly.

_But that doesn't mean that she wants to tutor him_, Ferris thought.

He quickly turned his mind to the ink-filled parchment in front of him. His own writing had taken up quite a bit of space; Lia had filled any blank spaces with her corrections and comments. "You love doing this, don't you?" Ferris said lightly, gesturing to the parchment.

"I do," Lia responded seriously. "That is why I chose to become a linguistic tutor-I love my language as much as I love yours."

"Ah. _That_ explains why you do such a wonderful job," Ferris complimented her.

"Ferris, if you truly thought I was doing wonderfully, you would be more eager to learn than to flatter me," she pointed out. "Now, I believe you need to learn about the future tense of verbs."

The lesson was quite uninteresting, but Ferris listened to Lia with the majority of his brain; the rest was busy trying to think of some way for her to look at him as something other than her pupil. Perhaps the way to Lia's heart was through her mind-her passion for language was evident; Ferris could recall a few lessons during which he'd tried to secretly stare at her as she prattled on and on about the connection between a Toscan word and an Araluan one. But he'd already been spending a rather ridiculous amount of time on his work ever since she arrived in Dun Kilty and Halt was _still_ getting more of her time.

"Ferris!" she snapped. "Are you paying attention?"

He looked away from her. "Sorry, Lia, but I'm feeling rather...distracted," he apologized.

The pause in his statement was enough to make Lia slightly uncomfortable. "Well then, we ought to move somewhere where your focus is better," she suggested briskly, hiding her discomfort.

"I don't think we could do that," Ferris replied, "because _you_ are what I find distracting."

"Then we shall be done for today," Lia stated. "For our next lesson, please write me a page and a half telling me what you will do tomorrow. Use at least twenty different verbs-and prepare to be assessed the next time we meet."

Ferris bit back a frown. Obviously, flattery hadn't worked-if anything, he'd sworn that his words had upset Lia, but nothing showed on her face or in her body language-she was poised and impassive as always. He gathered his things in silence, wondering how to win the heart-or at least the lips-of his seemingly emotionless teacher.

* * *

><p>She was breathing heavily, as if she'd just ran across Dun Kilty. Lia did her best to relax, knowing that she was literally on the verge of a panic attack, and gradually, her breathing began to slow. She sunk into an armchair in her quarters, closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply.<p>

How could she have taken this job-tutoring two fifteen-year-old boys? She knew how they were-half a glance from a woman and they'd fantasize about her for the next two weeks. It had been a while since she'd forced herself to remember things like this, but today's events with Ferris, though they were small, were slowly pulling her back towards reality.

Perhaps what happened today was just passing-the young prince would eventually accept her presence as a constant in his life. _Or it could be the start of a horribly useless pursuit,_ Lia pondered. Men often started wooing women in small ways-a word here or there, a subtle wink when no one else was looking.

Either way, Lia didn't want to do anything to encourage Ferris-and for a boy of his age, silence could be counted as a form of encouragement.

Not for the first time, Lia wished that she was older-even a few years might help. She did everything she could to make herself appear older, but apparently Ferris could tell that she really was not much older than him. She wondered rather absently why the king and queen had hired someone who was only three years older than their sons. Of course, she hadn't told the monarchs that she was only eighteen, hoping that their assessment of her would be based solely on skill.

Apparently it had been, she realized bitterly.

She'd never expected to regret the opportunity to educate the royal family of Clonmel. Of course, she hadn't allowed herself to think about the fact that one of the job requirements was spending large amounts of time with teenage boys who were used to having whatever they wanted.

Suddenly, Lia realized that throughout her stream of thought, she'd been subconsciously lumping Halt and Ferris together as if they were one person. _They certainly aren't_, she reminded herself. Oftentimes, she had difficulty getting Ferris to stop talking, whereas she had the opposite problem with Halt-he spoke only when asked to, and when he did so, his sentences were brief and to the point. She could tell that Halt disliked his Toscan lessons, whereas Ferris reveled in them.

And yet, she still preferred Halt as a student. His silence was comfortable for her, even if he was not a very enthusiastic pupil. Lia couldn't imagine Halt flirting with her so obviously-or at all. He only spoke when she asked him a question or told him to pronounce something for her. His work was never as elaborate as Ferris's, but the clean simplicity of Halt's words was always less of a mess for her to correct.

_Odd how that works-trying too hard to sound intelligent in a foreign language can often result in sounding foolish_, she pondered, relaxing a bit as she put Ferris's flirtation out of her mind.

She recalled the three years she'd spent studying Araluan before coming to Hibernia in search of some sort of interpreting job. The Araluan language was what had sustained Lia through the most painful times in her life; because of that, she felt an unbreakable tie to it. Of course, she'd always loved the extreme precision that Araluan had to offer, but it became especially special to her after hearing half-drunk men slur things carelessly in Toscan, kicking it around as if it were a piece of dust on the road.

Araluan had only positive memories tied to it. That was why, at age fifteen, Lia had had some sort of direction to her life. Those last years were undoubtedly the best of her life-and, she thought, had made it easier for her to teach the O'Carrick children. She'd recently experienced the same struggles of learning a new language, which made it easier for her to help them when they struggled.

And now she was back to Ferris. _Inevitable, really-I will keep thinking about it until I make myself stop_, Lia thought.

With a light sigh, she arose and picked up one of the few books she'd brought from Tosca-a collection of famous children's tales. She'd read them hundreds of times, but they were still special to her. However, she wanted to make sure that her mind was completely engaged-and she wasn't sure that the book alone would be enough. Lia sat the book down on her desk, shifted a piece of parchment in front of her, dipped her quill in a nearby bottle of ink, and began translating.

It wasn't as if it hadn't been done before, but Lia had read the tales in both languages and had always wondered how her own translation would differ from a more popular one. Her quill scratched across the paper rapidly, her mind far away from Hibernia, Tosca, and any other concrete place in the world.


	2. Envy

**A/N: Wow, thanks so much to everyone-I loved reading your feedback! There's definitely a bit more insight into Lia in this chapter, but chapter three is where she comes out of her shell a little bit. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

**As a side note, I will now be providing little translation guides at the end of every chapter (so you don't have to use Google Translate, which, quite frankly, is unreliable). And the translations will all be spelled correctly and with proper grammar, even if that's not how they're written in the original text.  
><strong>

**_Ranger's Apprentice_ is not mine-no matter how badly I want it. Dang nabbit. **

* * *

><p>He <em>hated<em> Halt.

Just the other day, Ferris had caught a glimpse of one of Halt's Toscan papers. Lia had barely written _anything_ on it! There were comments and corrections scattered in various places, but it looked like an actual composition instead of an ink accident. Ferris thought back to one of his recent papers. Lia had been unable to fit some of her comments onto the page with the corrections she'd made, so she had written everything else that she had to say on a separate sheet. How on earth could Halt, who was still spending extra time on his Toscan, be doing _better_? And if he wasn't, why were he and Halt being held to different standards?

"I see your _lessons_ with Lia are going well," said Ferris vehemently.

Halt shifted his eyes slowly in Ferris's direction. "I still have to go thrice a week, you know," Halt pointed out. "Pronunciation," he added dryly, rolling his eyes.

"_Right_." Ferris drew the word out, his tone dripping sarcasm. "I bet she's teaching you how to say...er, pronounce, with, ah..."

Halt raised an eyebrow as his brother fumbled for an appropriate accusation. "I bet she's _not_ teaching you pronunciation!" Ferris cried, his tone more excited than accusatory.

"Oh, you've caught us, Ferris," Halt remarked sarcastically, throwing his hands up in mock defeat. "She's ah, um, er, showing-no, no-ah, ummmm...educating...learning-no, not that-teaching me how to talk like you."

Ferris's face flamed with anger. "You know what I mean!" he shouted. "The only Toscan she's teaching you is Toscan kissing!"

"Toscan kissing?" Halt replied, an eyebrow arched. His brother might be the more favored twin, but Ferris wasn't as quick-witted as Halt.

"The point is that you and Lia are lovers!" Ferris snapped.

"What on earth makes you think that?" Halt replied, completely shocked. He'd expected Ferris to hassle him about his extra lessons-things like that were customary-but his brother had never accused him of romancing a tutor. Of course, Lia was younger than all of their other tutors, but that alone wasn't the beginning of love.

"I saw your paper yesterday," Ferris informed Halt. "Barely any marks on the whole thing! She's treating you differently because the two of you are lovers!"

Halt rolled his eyes. "Ferris, I promise Lia and I aren't lovers. I'd give up that extra lesson if she'd let me, but my pronunciation still needs work and Father won't let me stop until Lia tells him I can," he explained. "Why would I even want to spend more time with her?"

Ferris stared at his twin, shocked. "Don't you _look_ at her? It's as if she danced out of some exotic Toscan fable and into Dun Kilty!" he replied passionately.

Halt's eyebrows furrowed as he pictured Lia. "I suppose I see your point-she's not bad to look at," he mused.

Ferris snorted in disgust. "Well obviously there's nothing there if you say she's 'not bad to look at,'" he retorted, dropping his voice two octaves as he mocked his brother.

"See? Nothing," Halt reassured Ferris before walking away.

Ferris wondered for a moment if he was just putting a ridiculous amount of thought into the situation. _Better safe than sorry_, he decided. Even if Halt was lying to him and he and Lia were learning things that had nothing to do with the Toscan language, Ferris would have her in the end.

_Halt might be the crown prince_, he thought, _but he's not entitled to everything_.

* * *

><p>Lia was curled in a far corner of the room, sitting on the floor for no apparent reason. She'd been thinking about Tosca frequently, comparing it to Hibernia-and she'd realized that although she'd only been living in Dun Kilty for a few months, it felt more like home than any place she'd been to in...years.<p>

To most of the people in Tosca, home was where one could find one's family-people that would always be there when less than favorable things happened. Lia's idea of a home was slightly different. It was a place where she could rest and be alone, uninterrupted by knocks on her door-a place meant for only her and her thoughts. Ten years ago, she'd been in love with Tosca and wouldn't have left her country for anything.

Those years literally changed Lia's entire life. She was always seeking solitude-an elusive thing in Tosca. Here, in this new country, where she knew very few people, it was simple to fade away into the background. Outside the royal family, she barely had contact with anyone else in Dun Kilty, which was nothing short of bliss for Lia.

She heard someone knock on her door and arose quickly, smoothing the front of her dress. People didn't visit her chambers unless it was some sort of official business-she was only a tutor and was rarely needed, save for lessons. "Come in!" she called, striding towards the door.

The door opened and a young girl of about thirteen walked in-Princess Caitlyn of Dun Kilty. "Lia?" she asked. "I have some questions for you."

Lia smiled at her youngest pupil-she was much more at ease around Caitlyn than she was around Ferris or Halt. She'd reassured the princess that she could come and ask her questions about Toscan any time she needed-an offer that she hadn't made to the twins. Lia spent a fair amount of time in the library so that the princes could stumble across her in case they were having difficulties with their lessons, but she wasn't about to give them permission to wander into her chambers at their leisure. "Of course. Go ahead and sit," Lia told her, gesturing to her desk chair. "Please pardon my mess-I was doing a bit of editing earlier."

Caitlyn sat, glancing briefly at the papers. Lia saw the younger girl's eyes widen slightly, presumably because of the more elevated vocabulary on the page before her. "Wow," she murmured. "Did you write this?"

"No-that is actually Halt's latest assignment. I asked him to write about anything he wanted, just so I could assess him," Lia explained. "He wrote about being out of doors."

"He hates being inside," Caitlyn remarked.

Lia nodded. "Please do not mention this to your brother-I do not want him to think too highly of himself-but it is the most beautiful thing I have read in years. He only made a few mistakes," she revealed.

"I want to do that one day," the princess mused.

"One day, I am sure you will be just as skilled," Lia replied. "Although I believe that you originally came here to ask me something."

"Right," Caitlyn recalled. "Well, it was more a question about your culture than your language, but I was wondering...do people in Tosca sometimes communicate with their hands?"

Lia stood in thought for a few moments before answering, "That is one way of looking at it, I suppose. I do it without thinking-for all of my life, I have been gesturing to enhance my speech. It is a common thing; everyone in Tosca does it. Sometimes we will gesture without speaking, but often, we will simply add to what we say with our hands."

"Oh!" Caitlyn exclaimed. "Is that why you always do this-" she held her left hand flat and mimed writing on it with her right hand- "when you tell me to write something?"

"Yes, you are exactly right," Lia replied, amazed at the girl's insight. "Since I came here, you are the first person to say anything about that."

"Halt didn't say anything?" Caitlyn asked. "He notices everything."

Lia shook her head. "It is very possible that he noticed, but I would be shocked if your brother said something without being asked to," she replied.

"Probably because he doesn't like Toscan," Caitlyn said before she gasped, realizing to whom she was speaking. "Lia, I didn't mean-"

The young tutor laughed softly, waving Caitlyn's comment away. "It is easy to tell that he is not fond of Toscan," Lia remarked. "I do not expect all of my students to love what I teach them-but I try not to bore him _too_ badly."

Caitlyn breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for being so understanding, Lia."

"It is not a problem. Up until I left Tosca, I was still being tutored-and there were subjects that I disliked, so it is an easy thing for me to understand," Lia explained.

"You were learning for _that_ long?" Caitlyn wondered incredulously. "I mean, about things other than language?"

Lia shook her head. "You think that I am older than I am," she replied. "For three years before I came to Hibernia, my foci were mainly perfecting my Toscan and learning everything about Araluan-but I still spent time on other things."

"Like what else?" Caitlyn inquired.

"Oh-geography, mathematics, those sort of things. I really did not mind most of it, but geography-I still struggle with it," revealed Lia.

Caitlyn smiled. "Well, thank you for answering my questions, Lia," she said. "I suppose I'll see you at our next lesson."

"Very well. Do not hesitate to come and ask me things," Lia responded.

Caitlyn stood up and left, leaving Lia feeling rather wistful as she recalled her younger days. _Perhaps I should not avoid _all_ human contact_, Lia pondered.

* * *

><p>Halt dragged himself to the library, dreading his Toscan lesson as much as always. He honestly couldn't see the point-Toscan was a woefully uncommon language and Lia had let it slip that most of the higher-ranking people in Tosca were at least proficient in Araluan. Sitting in the library among thousands of ancient, dusty books was not exactly a part of Halt's idea day either-and the fact that Lia always based herself in a corner of the library made him feel as if he was imprisoned.<p>

He arrived at the table to find his tutor sitting on the table, tapping her feet impatiently. _And she still manages to look dignified_, he realized.

"I read your essay and thought that we ought to do things a bit differently," Lia suggested.

Halt raised an eyebrow at her. "We're sitting on the table?" he wondered.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation or amusement-he couldn't tell which. "I thought that we might try having this lesson out in the courtyards," she said, gathering an armload of books and sliding off the table.

Deciding that it was best not to ask any questions that could change Lia's mind, Halt followed her out of the castle and into the courtyards, where they found two benches facing one another. "Here is your last assignment with all of the corrections," Lia said, handing Halt a piece of parchment before sitting down across from him.

He took a moment to glance over the paper, noting that Lia's comments and corrections were more sparse than usual. _Maybe I won't need extra lessons for much longer,_ he thought hopefully, though he knew that the hope was in vain.

"When you are done looking at this, I would like for you to read it out loud to me," Lia told him.

Halt did his best to muffle a groan. He'd thought that the paper had been above his normal standard; if it had, all of its good qualities were about to be forgotten.

"_Molte persone cercano la belezza nel castelo di Dun Kilty. Io? L-incontro foori-in natura_."

Lia held up a hand, signaling him to stop. "_Bellllllllllezza_-remember to hold the double 'l' as you did with the double 'z,'" she amended. "The same applies to _castelllllllllo_. And do not worry about slurring things together-it is not ehl-een-COHN-tro; one says leen-COHN-tro. Lastly, I believe you were trying to say 'outside,' which is FWOOR-ee, not FOOR-ee."

She paused for a moment before prompting Halt to proceed. He continued to read the rest of the paper; Lia stopped him every few sentences to correct his pronunciation errors. She noted that he seemed to be much more at home outside-most students would lose focus when taken outside, but the fresh air appeared to sharpen Halt's mind. He rarely made the same mistake twice.

By the end of their lesson, Lia was doing her best to hide the excitement that was filling her insides. She'd found how to motivate Halt-if leaving the library was the key to his success, she would bring him out here every day. If he kept absorbing things as well as he had today, Lia would only need to give him private lessons for a few more months...

_Winter_, she realized with dismay. That would slow things down a fair amount-but nothing could take away her joy at knowing how to teach Halt.

"That is all for today," she said, keeping her tone neutral. "You may go now."

Halt stood, feeling less irate with Toscan than he normally did. He still disliked the language, but it was slightly less tedious when he wasn't shoved into a corner of the library. Before he could walk away, Lia said suddenly, "Halt...I must commend you on your performance today. You did an _excellent_ job."

He looked at her for a moment before replying, "_Grazie_-thanks, Lia."

"Thank yourself, Halt-you are the one who's improved."

They left the courtyards via separate routes, both of them thinking deeply about how out of the ordinary the day had been.

* * *

><p>"Halt?"<p>

He looked up from his geography at the sound of Caitlyn's voice. "Hmm?" he asked.

"I'm bored."

He scowled unconvincingly at her. "Can't you be bored elsewhere?" he inquired, attempting to turn his mind back to his work.

"Well, it's not as if you're accomplishing anything," she pointed out, gesturing to the empty page in front of him.

"Good point," he replied. "Was there any sort of reason you came here other than boredom?"

"Hmm," she mused. "I went to see Lia last night. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but she enjoyed your essay. Immensely."

"Strange," Halt murmured. At Caitlyn's curious look, he elaborated, "I had my Toscan lesson outside today-it's still torture, but of a lesser degree. And-Lia _complimented_ me on my pronunciation!"

"Wow," Caitlyn said. "That must mean that you're actually _intelligible_!"

Halt shoved her playfully. "It's odd...she's not like my other teachers," he pondered.

"She _did_ mention to me that she tries not to bore you," Caitlyn pointed out. "And she told me that she was still being tutored in things other than Araluan until she came to Hibernia-so she remembers sitting and learning terribly tedious things."

"Well, she's been moderately unsuccessful in her attempts to not bore me," Halt replied. "But today was slightly less horrendous than normal."

Caitlyn shook her head. "I really don't understand how you can hate it that much-it sounds so _beautiful_," she stated.

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe, but it's useless-they only speak it in Tosca."

"You're impossible," Caitlyn told him jokingly. "You get to listen to your lovely tutor speak a beautiful language and _that's_ all you have to say."

Halt frowned upon hearing the words "lovely tutor." "First Ferris, now you," he muttered. At Caitlyn's curious look, he elaborated, "Ferris was accusing me of being Lia's lover just the other day. Obviously I told him that I wasn't, but...I wonder if he's interested in her."

"For her sake, I hope not," replied Caitlyn. "He won't leave her alone until he gets bored with the whole ordeal."

"Besides, it's odd, even if she isn't much older than us-she's still our tutor," Halt added. "And Lia wouldn't let anything get in the way of teaching us, believe me."

* * *

><p>Lia slammed Ferris's last assignment down on the table in front of him-plus two additional pages filled with her comments. "Unacceptable," she snapped, her voice harsher than he'd ever heard it.<p>

_Apparently I overdid it_-_or underdid it, in this case_, Ferris realized. He'd put much less effort into his last essay, wishing that she'd talk with him about it and do something to "correct" the problem-extra lessons, he'd hoped. Those hopes were nothing more than a very distant memory.

"Well, I was struggling-"

"Shut up," she cut him off. "I have not seen _anything_ written this poorly since I was seven...reading something written by a child of _five years_. When last I checked, you are fifteen and capable of work of a much higher quality. You wasted two hours of my time with this paper, Ferris, and to say that I am disappointed in you would be a severe under-exaggeration of the situation."

He sat in silence, his eyes flicking around her. Her anger made him feel sufficiently punished, but...she was still so pretty with her eyes lit up and her full, perfect lips moving rapidly. "I apologize, Lia, but I had other things to do," he told her softly, lowering his head.

"Apparently these 'other things' took up all of your time, save five minutes before arriving here," she retorted. "You will rewrite this _at the appropriate skill level_-including a page explanation of every mistake you made-in Toscan."

Ferris pulled out a quill and parchment, ready to impress Lia and regain his favorable reputation. "Not now," she said. "You are to do this on your own time. Today, we will proceed with your lessons."

He exhaled exasperatedly, more to hide what he was really feeling than out of actual frustration. In all honesty, Ferris wasn't as ashamed of his shoddy paper as he should have been-he was too focused on Lia. There was something strangely attractive about her sudden display of emotion, especially since she was always so disconnected. If she could feel such fiery emotion over a poor piece of work, Ferris could only imagine what Lia would be like when she was overjoyed. He pondered this for the entirety of the lesson, imagining how passionate a romance with her could be.

"...and after that, I spent thirty minutes running through the streets of Dun Kilty in the rain, singing love songs to the dirt in Toscan."

Ferris bit his lip, wondering how for how long Lia had been rambling to see if she had his attention. "How kind of you to join me, Ferris," she remarked icily. "Since you are apparently too good to be taught by me, please do all of Hibernia a favor and educate yourself on the Toscan conditional tense. You should be quite adept at it, as your attention span appears to be just as solid as the verb tense."

"Lia...I really am sorry about my...ah, being a poor student," Ferris said, his regret more genuine than before. "And I can't make excuses for it."

"Ferris," she began, "I understand that everyone has days that are-less favorable. This, however, is...well, I believe I've made my disappointment in you quite clear. I trust that this is just a temporary occurrence and hope that you return for your next lesson with your mind intact."

"Yes, Lia," he said, gathering his things before he got up and left, still thinking of how pretty her lips were.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn sat down at Lia's table, eager for her next lesson. However, her tutor looked less than ready to teach. She was sitting in her chair, breathing deeply. "Caitlyn, please go for a moment-but practice your Toscan. Conjugate verbs, write sentences, I do not mind what you do as long as you are working on Toscan," Lia explained, her voice strained.<p>

At Caitlyn's curious look, the tutor elaborated, "I am in no state to teach at the moment. Please give me five minutes to regain control of myself."

The young princess nodded and moved to another table and set to work, acting as if Lia were watching her over her shoulder. A few minutes later, she saw Lia perch herself on another chair at the table. "Thank you for being so cooperative, Caitlyn. I was...irate and did not want to teach you in such a state," Lia said softly.

"What was it that upset you?" Caitlyn inquired.

Lia sighed. "Essentially, nothing bothers me more than a person who does sloppy work when he is capable of something much better," she clarified.

Caitlyn decided not to ask any more questions; she'd ask Halt about it later today to see if it was his work that had put Lia in such a foul mood. She certainly didn't want to irk her tutor any further.

* * *

><p>Immediately after dinner, Caitlyn grabbed Halt's sleeve and pulled him aside, eager for answers. "How did your lesson with Lia go?" she wondered.<p>

"Well enough," Halt replied.

Caitlyn realized that he hadn't expressed his dislike for Toscan, as he normally would have, but decided to address that abnormality later. "I came in for my lesson and she was _mad_," she explained. "When I asked about it, she told me that she dislikes it when people do sloppy work."

"She never said anything to me," Halt told her. "But she had Ferris after me...and maybe that was it. He's never been sloppy, though."

Caitlyn bit her lip in thought. "What if he's trying to get her attention?" she suggested.

"Makes sense-well, for Ferris," Halt replied. "Seems like it worked-maybe not in the way he planned, but it worked."

"Is he really that...infatuated?" Caitlyn inquired.

"Cait, I saw him making eyes at her the moment she walked into the library on our first day. I'm fairly certain he's after her," Halt stated.

She looked around warily before saying, "Well...should we say something about it?"

Halt rolled his eyes. "What are we supposed to say?" he questioned. "She's older than us, Caitlyn-if she wants to do something about it, she will."

Caitlyn nodded her agreement. "It's not really our place to say anything, I suppose," she realized. "She appears to be in control of the situation."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "Speaking of situations, you didn't say anything about your deeply rooted hate for Toscan."

"It's improved lately-not that I really like it, but she's figured out that I don't like working inside. Thinking is easier outside; it's not so stuffy," Halt explained.

"Hmm, I'd say you almost _like_ it," Caitlyn teased.

Halt elbowed her gently in the ribs, scowling. "Honestly, I don't. But at least I'm not bored out of my skull-I'm just bored _in_ my skull."

"Say whatever you want," Caitlyn replied. "I think you're starting to like it.

"Unlikely, Cait. _Highly_ unlikely."

* * *

><p>"Better."<p>

Lia was back to her normally emotionless demeanor at Ferris's next lesson. He'd done what she'd asked, though his mind hadn't been on the task-thoughts of Lia were considerably more appealing than the conditional tense.

"Not that 'better' is much of an improvement, I suppose-but you have certainly regained some of your aptitude," Lia told him, handing back his second draft of the essay. "You are still performing rather poorly, but that can be corrected quickly enough."

Ferris waited, hoping that she'd offer to give him private lessons-even for a few weeks. "I might just need a bit of extra practice," he suggested.

"That is what I thought," Lia remarked. "And for that reason, I have made a series of short assignments. You are to do one every day and return the completed papers to me at the beginning of every lesson."

His heard plummeted. How could she _not_ tutor him? He had regressed significantly in the past two weeks-yet Halt was still getting more of Lia's time. The only answer could be that they were lovers.

"All right," he replied, taking the stack of papers from Lia, his head hanging low.

"Now that that matter is behind us, I would like to quickly to over _il condizionale_ with you to insure that you understand it," Lia replied.

The lesson continued in the same way that the rest of them had-no excitement, just practice and explanation. However, when Ferris left the library, his heart was burning hotly with passion. He was furious with Halt-seven blasted minutes gave him everything that should have belonged to Ferris.

Not for much longer, though. Change was coming to Dun Kilty, and Ferris was the one who would usher it in.

* * *

><p>She'd been right to worry about Ferris. The sudden slide in his work had been nothing more than a cry for attention. He was probably paying more attention to her appearance than what she told him-which was doubly frustrating, since it meant that his normally excellent work was sliding downhill.<p>

_Apparently I chose the right profession_, Lia though wryly. _I am more concerned about the fact that his assignments are suffering than the fact that there is a fifteen-year-old prince chasing after me._

The past few months had gone so well for her, save for a few moderately uncomfortable moments with Ferris. All three of her pupils had been improving and she'd finally adjusted to hearing Araluan spoken everywhere.

Maybe if she told him firmly that she was not at all interested-and mentioned the complete lack of propriety in such a relationship-he would leave her alone. Sometimes a solid answer helped

_Obviously not_, she realized. When she'd chastised him for his poor work, it had made him even more unfocused, presumably because she'd shown a bit too much emotion.

_Never again_, Lia promised herself. If she was going to reject Ferris, it would have to be a silent rejection-a very, very long and silent rejection.

* * *

><p><em>Molte persone cercano la bellezza nel castello di Dun Kilty. Io? L'incontro fuori-in natura<em>.- Many people search for beauty in the castle of Dun Kilty. Me? I find it outside-in nature.

_grazie_ - Thank you

_il condizionale_ - the conditional [verb tense]


	3. Schism

**A/N: This story is practically writing itself. I'm not going to be done before college (which is only a week away-jeez, where'd the time go?), so it might slow down for a while, but I'll post at least one more chapter before I head off to school. And I'm almost nineteen! (Three hours and fourteen minutes...hey, that's pi (well, kind of)! *dances with joy*)**

**Again, I deeply appreciate all of your reviews, especially since everyone's been great about telling me exactly what they liked/disliked/were interested in-that is the most valuable kind of feedback. :) Enjoy!**

**I do not own **_**Ranger's Apprentice**_** or "An Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope (which is quoted in here).**

* * *

><p>"<em>Rag-no<em>."

Lia shook her head at Halt. "In Toscan, the 'gn' letter combination makes a 'nyehh' sound. It would be more like _ran-yo_," she clarified.

"_Ragno_," he attempted again.

She nodded approval. "Remember to roll the 'r,'" she reminded him.

"_Rrrrragno_."

"It needs a bit of work, but that will come with time," she said.

"Lia, I've been practicing it for days and it's still not right!" Halt lamented. "Maybe it's something that, as a foreigner, I can't say."

Her eyebrows arched momentarily before she said, "It is difficult, not impossible, and you _will_ be able to say it one day."

"Forgive me, but that's a little unconvincing, coming from someone who grew up speaking Toscan," Halt replied frustratedly.

"You forget that I had to learn _your_ language, even though I have spoken mine for longer. And there are sounds in Araluan that we do not have in Toscan," Lia reminded him.

"And of course, you learned them all perfectly," he muttered.

Lia bit back a smile. "Halt, had I come to Hibernia two months earlier, I would not have been able to say your name-or the name of your country," she revealed.

"Right-no 'h,'" he recalled.

Lia nodded. "And out of all the twists and turns of your language, that was the one thing that I could not do. Rules could be memorized, other sounds could be duplicated-since Toscan had similar sounds-but I could not make that sound.

"Fortunately, I had an excellent tutor who was native to Araluen, and he made me practice until I could say it correctly. It was...awful, but now I know that I am one of few native Toscans who can say the letter 'h,'" she told him.

"As a fair warning, I am not nearly as dedicated as you are," Halt replied.

"You learned it much more quickly than I did. You almost have it after a couple of weeks-learning 'h' took me _years_," Lia added.

"Then I suppose I've got some time," Halt decided.

The corners of Lia's mouth twitched, almost forming a smile. "Yes, you have plenty of time."

She'd been very pleased with his performance lately-in fact, as soon as Halt was done with his lesson today, Lia planned on informing the king and queen that Halt was no longer in need of extra lessons. He still wasn't fond of the Toscan language, but he'd been making more of an effort to learn after a conversation they'd had recently.

_"You told me that most people in Tosca know Araluan. Why am I learning something so useless?" he asked._

_"True," Lia began, "but in Tosca, we love it if someone tries to learn our language. It is the highest compliment that we can be paid-if someone knows our language, that person is, in our hearts, Toscan. If you ever have to go to Tosca for some sort of negotiation or treaty, knowing Toscan will make it very easy for you."_

Knowing the uses of the language was what motivated Halt-that and getting out of the library. The atypical methods that she used to teach him were refreshing to Lia as well-she still enjoyed teaching Ferris and Caitlyn, but it was more interesting to see how Halt learned. In all honesty, he was her favorite student-not because he was the best or the most passionate about the language, but because she enjoyed the challenge of teaching him.

_Hmm...when I pick favorites, I pick the tight-lipped, reluctant one_, she pondered.

_At least he knows how to keep his distance._

* * *

><p>Ferris had been uncomfortably quiet lately. He hadn't spoken to Halt in days-not even to harass him, feign civility, or accuse him yet again of having a relationship with Lia. Quite frankly, it was worrying Halt a bit-silence meant that Ferris was thinking.<p>

Halt walked through the library, thinking deeply about what the cause of his brother's silence could be. He had to find an old volume and read some excerpt of it for his history lesson, but that wasn't the first thing in his mind as he wandered.

"You know, you _could_ be doing your Toscan right now."

Halt glanced at a nearby chair and saw Lia, her hair hanging down her back, which was against one arm of the chair-her legs hung over the other arm. "_You_ could be planning my next lesson," he suggested.

She smiled. "Well, I do not have as much work to do now that I will only be seeing you twice a week," she replied.

"Yes," Halt whispered in triumph. To Lia, he replied with, "Thanks, Lia-I know it was extra work for you."

"Oh, think nothing of it," she responded. "And do not thank me-you are the one who is responsible for the end of your extra lessons."

"I'm to blame for starting them, though," he remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Though she'd seen him make that expression several times before, it made Lia's heart jump this time. _What am I doing?_ she wondered, not sure whether to be pleased or horrified by the sudden strike of emotion. "Well, you have improved so much since you first began-if I continued giving you that extra lesson, I would run out of things to teach you," she revealed.

"I doubt _that_," he responded. "And since when do you give out praise like that?"

Lia rolled her eyes and swung her legs so that she was sitting in the chair normally. "It is not praise-only a simple fact," she stated.

"Hmm, I see you're reading about the Sunrise Warrior," Halt pointed out, gesturing to the book on her lap. "So clearly, you're well-versed in facts."

"Oh, quiet yourself," Lia said, an edge of playfulness on her voice. "We do not have stories of the Sunrise Warrior in Tosca, but I always enjoyed the Toscan legends that I heard as a child."

"Yes, the complete lack of reality has a rather whimsical quality to it," Halt replied dryly.

Something about his voice was making Lia's heart beat faster. _Odd; he is not speaking differently than on a normal day_, she thought. She decided to blame her jumpy heart on the lack of contact she'd had with men over the past few years. "I have seen enough reality for a few lifetimes-occasionally, I find it rather refreshing to escape," she confessed.

Halt looked at her, curious. "You're how old-twenty-one, twenty-two-and you're already bored?"

"Eight-ah, nineteen," she corrected him. "And I would not quite say that I am bored of the world-but I have seen things that I sometimes want to forget-as have we all. Ah well, _c'è la vita_."

"I like how that sounds. _C'è la vita_-that's life. Just-simple for once," Halt mused.

"We do have short words in Toscan, you know," Lia reminded him.

"Hmm, never would've guessed _that_," he replied, rolling his eyes.

Again, Lia felt her heart spin-the feeling was beginning to bother the logical side of her brain. From where were these feelings coming-and why now? She pushed the questions away and instead asked Halt, "Forgive my curiosity, but what brings you to the library? I understand that it is...ah, not your favorite place."

"History," he replied unhappily. "I need a book about some dead fellow who did something that was of relevance at some point in time."

"Hmm, so you do not enjoy history either?" she inquired.

"Not really."

"Ah, it makes sense-you do not enjoy the inside of Dun Kilty. To you, it represents, ah, _come si dice_, confinement," Lia concluded.

Halt looked at her, slightly impressed. "So you _do_ actually read my essays," he remarked.

"Of course-if you work so hard to write something, it is only fair that I should read it. Besides, it is easy to miss mistakes if I only glance through things," Lia explained. "Do your other tutors do that-just scan for mistakes?"

"I suspect it," Halt replied. "No one else ever comments on things."

Lia groaned. "Oh, I always hated that-I would try to do well, and would only be left with a few notes. It bothered me greatly," she said.

"It's easy to forget that you aren't much older than me," Halt replied. "I'm used to my tutors being ancient."

Lia shifted slightly in her chair-discussing her age made her a bit uncomfortable, though she sensed that Halt's inquiry was purely innocent. "If you are complimenting me...thank you. If you are saying that I am inexperienced...well, remember who is teaching you," she answered in a light tone.

"It is not a compliment-only a simple fact," he responded, his mouth twisting up into a smile for a split second.

She released a laugh-seeing Halt exercise his wit thusly was a new experience for Lia, who was so used to silence from the young prince. "You really are quite quick with your words," she pondered. Thinking that Halt wasn't listening, she muttered, "Unlike Ferris."

Halt had heard her muttering. "So my brother _isn't_ perfect," he remarked.

Lia looked up at him, slightly taken aback. "As a tutor, I do not believe that I am allowed to discuss students with other students," she began. "However...at the moment, I am not speaking as a tutor, so I am allowed to say...Ferris is not perfect-certainly not."

There was a slight hint of discomfort in Lia's tone. Halt sensed that he and Caitlyn had been right about Ferris's intentions towards their tutor. For a moment, he felt sorry for Lia-unlike Ferris's other love interests, she appeared to be totally uninterested in him. "Good to know he's got something to work on," Halt murmured. "He's perfect at everything else."

Now it was Lia's turn to feel sorry for Halt. She'd known that he was less personable than his younger twin, but she'd never thought about the edge that Ferris's natural amiability might give him with other people. Halt was the oldest, yet he was sometimes overshadowed by Ferris. "Halt, I tell you this as a, um-fellow person," she said, uncertain of how to define their relationship outside of a classroom setting.

"I believe 'friend' is the word you need," Halt interjected.

"Very well. I tell you this as a friend," Lia amended. "You speak well-much, much better than Ferris does. Perhaps you struggled with pronunciation in Toscan, but the way you spoke-how you put words together-always showed so much intelligence. You have the ability to speak and think quickly-and those are qualities that are, from my understanding of the world, prized in a king."

Halt blinked twice. "Those were some wonderful..."

"Facts," Lia provided.

"Call them what you like. Either way..." Halt trailed off. He was accustomed to being compared to his brother, but more often than not, it was Ferris who received the praise.

Lia nodded, knowing that Halt was, in his own way, thanking her. That and the fact that he had called her his friend were making her heart thud like a drum. "You think too highly of him, Halt," she nearly whispered.

He was almost certain that Ferris had done or said something to make her uncomfortable-Lia was not the sort of person who would make such a comment about someone without a solid reason behind it. "Lia, if he's said anything-or, God forbid, done anything-out of line, just...stay in charge," he advised her. "You're barely older than us, but you're still our tutor."

She smiled sadly at him. "Thank you for your advice, but I do not think that it will be much of a problem," she replied.

"I hope not," he muttered. In a more audible voice, he told Lia, "Well, I'd better be going now-it's almost dinnertime."

"Ah," remarked Lia. "Well, enjoy your evening, and, since I will probably not be seeing you tomorrow, _buon compleanno e tanti auguri_!"

"Thanks-same to you, Lia," he replied. When she looked at him with an expression of slight shock, he added, "You slipped when telling me your age earlier-you wouldn't have done that unless you'd just turned nineteen."

Lia was rather surprised by how observant Halt was. "Thank you, Halt. I will see you...well, fairly soon," she said.

He nodded once before leaving the library. As he walked, he thought about how different Lia was when she wasn't teaching him. She didn't try to act like she was years older than him or as if she knew more than him, which Halt respected. It was slightly odd to see her so relaxed-she was always so formal during his lessons.

Now that he'd glimpsed a new side of his tutor, he hoped even more that Ferris wasn't flirting shamelessly with her. She'd appeared uncomfortable at the mere mention of Ferris-a sign that she was new to love. _Maybe that's why he's been so quiet_, Halt mused. _He's plotting the seduction of our tutor._

* * *

><p>Lia was sitting in her room, translating her book of Toscan tales as she tried to keep her mind off of her conversation with Halt. It'd been occupying her thoughts far too much, which was starting to annoy her. Combined with the number of times her heart had either flipped or sped up during their discussion, Lia was beginning to be suspicious of her feelings for Halt. <em>He is my student and a friend-nothing more<em>, she reassured herself.

Still...she'd heard people talk of romance-real romance in which the man had at least a speck of chivalry-and when she'd asked how it felt, their descriptions had been similar to what she was feeling. _But I have felt similarly when I was nervous_, she thought, _and it means nothing. Perhaps this is only nerves at talking to him outside of his lessons._

Deciding that a further analysis of the situation was not in order, Lia turned her mind back to translating the Toscan legends.

* * *

><p>"Caitlyn, I need to ask you something."<p>

The young princess looked up, thinking that it was Halt was speaking to her. With a closer look at the face, she realized that Ferris was the one talking, not Halt. "What do you want?" she wondered suspiciously.

"Well, there's this...lady," Ferris began. "Don't even do that-_you'll_ be chasing men in a few years," he said hastily when Caitlyn rolled her eyes.

"Women aren't supposed to do the chasing, Ferris," Caitlyn pointed out. _And if they did, I'm sure some of them would be chasing you away._

"Either way, I thought I'd ask another lady for advice," he continued.

"Ferris, I'm _twelve_," she remarked.

"Yes, but you're the closest thing I've got!" he exclaimed. "So, what should I do to win her over?"

Caitlyn was highly suspicious of the situation-she was almost positive that Ferris was asking for her help in his pursuit of Lia. "Well, what is she like? What are her interests-likes, dislikes, that sort of thing?" she inquired.

Ferris's face twisted in thought. "Well...she's older than me and she likes words-language," he managed.

It was definitely Lia. "Have you done anything else to...let her know?" Caitlyn asked. While she was trapped by Ferris, she might as well get as much information about the situation as she could.

"I've hinted a few times, but I don't know if she's just clueless or just uninterested. She's one of those girls who's like ice-pretty, but cold," Ferris explained.

"I think I know your problem," Halt, who had slipped in a moment ago, interjected. "You're referring to this woman as a block of ice. Now, I am no great expert at romance like you, Ferris, but comparing girls to frozen water doesn't seem like something they'd be immensely fond of."

Ferris's eyes flashed at Halt. "Of course, _you_ know all about her-she's _your_ dearest love!" he cried. "Don't deny it-I know that the two of you were talking in the library earlier today."

"Ferris, if having a conversation makes two people lovers, I'd appreciate it if you'd shut up," Halt stated coolly.

Caitlyn lowered her head, biting back a giggle. It was an awful time to be laughing, but Halt's quick wit _was_ highly amusing. "You're overreacting, Ferris," she said once she'd regained her composure. "And you're imagining something that's not there."

"You can't defend him, Caitlyn-Halt can't have everything!" Ferris exclaimed. "Lia's fair game-and easy game, if I do it correctly."

Halt's temper flared. He didn't have any romantic feelings for Lia, but she was his friend and he wasn't about to let Ferris speak foully of her. "If I were you, I'd watch what I say," Halt replied, lowering his voice dangerously.

"Ah, playing knight in shining armor again?" Ferris taunted. "Come riding in on your white horse to sweep our tutor off her feet?"

Caitlyn looked at her brothers-their argument was seconds away from turning into a physical fight. She saw Halt clench a fist and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. "Honestly, you're fighting over a girl!" she cried.

"He basically called her a whore!" Halt retorted. "Women shouldn't be talked about like that."

"I did no such thing!" Ferris objected.

"Right. Calling our tutor 'easy game' doesn't imply _anything_ of the sort," Halt replied caustically.

"I meant that it'll be easy for me to make her fall for me because...well..."

Halt and Caitlyn both gave Ferris withering looks. "Never mind," Ferris surrendered, throwing his hands up before walking away. To him, losing this argument was a small price to pay for the rewards he'd receive in a week.

* * *

><p>It was only mid-morning and Halt wanted his sixteenth birthday to be over. He couldn't go anywhere without being stopped and congratulated by random people-all of their words hollow. He wanted to be alone, preferably outside, for a long period of time, so when he saw a chance to escape, he took it.<p>

Today had always been more for Ferris than Halt-the younger twin was the one who loved all the pomp and circumstance that came with being royalty. The birthday celebration was Ferris's favorite thing-all eyes were on him and everyone had yet another reason to praise him. Of course, Halt was always included in the festivities, but his participation was highly reluctant. _This is how I'd celebrate_, Halt thought as he stepped into the courtyards. The fresh air was blissful to his lungs, especially after he'd been confined to the castle all day.

"So they made you speak it all the time?" Halt heard his sister's voice ask.

"Yes-even when I was upset. It was very difficult for me not to begin speaking Toscan when I was feeling things strongly, but my tutor made sure that no one would acknowledge what I said if it was said in Toscan," Lia's voice said. "It was so hard sometimes, being upset and having to think instead of letting the words just...come, but speaking your language is easier now that I am here."

"Halt!" Caitlyn exclaimed as she noticed her brother walking by. "Happy birthday!"

He smiled at his sister, knowing that the words were sincere coming from her. "You told me that already," he pointed out.

"Yes, but I know how you feel about today and wanted to make it at least a bit better," Caitlyn remarked. "Come talk with us," she urged him.

Lia, who had been sitting with her legs curled up on the bench, shifted into a normal sitting position and slid over to one side. "Then perhaps we should speak of something a bit more cheerful," she suggested. "My school days were interesting, but not always...happy."

"Why _did_ you choose to come here?" Caitlyn inquired, switching the tone of the conversation. "I mean, I know that you love the Araluan language, but...why not Araluen?"

"Because I constantly heard stories of how beautiful your country was. The school I stayed in for the years before coming here was filled with people from other places-and those from Hibernia told me lovely stories of their land," Lia explained, her eyes lit up with joy.

She glanced around, making sure that no one else was listening before she continued, "It is also because I wanted to make myself say 'h.'"

Caitlyn giggled. "So if I went to Tosca, people there would say that I'm from Ibernia?"

"Nearly everyone would, yes," Lia confirmed.

"Then I'd be Alt," Halt pointed out, shaking his head in disgust.

"Not quite," Lia corrected him. "'Alt' has too many _consonati_-ah, consonants, for most Toscans. Your name would have to be translated."

"Right. Fermata, Fermare, something of the sort," Halt added, rolling his eyes.

It was fairly obvious to Lia that Halt would rather peel off a layer of his skin than talk about Toscan when it wasn't necessary. She glanced up at him and as she'd trained her self to do, saw exactly how he was different from Ferris. His features were sharper, his body slightly leaner and more muscular than that of his brother, and-of course-the eyes. That was the first way she'd learned to tell the twins apart. Halt could fix his gaze on something and keep it steadily on that thing until he died. Ferris's gaze, however, tended to waver. Someone who wasn't watching closely might think that he could hold his gaze, but his eyes moved with the tiniest little flicks.

And somehow, Halt made Lia feel differently than Ferris did. She always felt herself pulling inward, oh-so-slightly away from Ferris, whereas she felt...almost attracted to Halt. Maybe it was due to the fact that Halt looked older because he shaved less frequently than his brother. The look suited him, though...

_He is my student_, she reminded herself. _I should not be thinking about him in this way, no matter how close we are in age._

Noticing that Halt and Caitlyn were deeply engaged in conversation, Lia slipped away, knowing that it was for the best. Too much time around Halt would send her mind reeling into a state of sugary bliss-one in which it certainly didn't belong.

* * *

><p>To say that this was agony would be ridiculous. Agony would be much more comfortable. This was nothing short of hell-and at times, even that seemed a bit too mild to describe what Halt was experiencing.<p>

It was that blasted plate of shrimp he'd had for dinner. He'd begun feeling somewhat unsettled halfway through before it hit him full force.

And now he was lying here, helpless, trapped by the awful twisting in his stomach. What he wouldn't give to return to that night and skip dinner, regardless of what his parents would say..._anything_ would be better than being forced to lie here, a helpless prisoner of the churning storm in his abdomen.

Even death-because that would bring an end to this unbearable twisting.

* * *

><p>When the royal physicians announced that Halt would live, the relief was palpable in Dun Kilty. All the inhabitants of the castle had been on edge for nearly a week while Halt had battled what appeared to be a particularly nasty case of food poisoning. Obviously, Halt's excitement at being fully functional outweighed everyone else's joy-he was so thrilled to be able to get up and move that he didn't mind going to the library for his Toscan lesson, since the physician advised him against going outside-Halt's immune system was still slightly shaken from the shrimp incident.<p>

As usual, Lia was sitting at her table in her little corner of the library. "I am glad to see you back," she told him. "Many people thought that you were on death's porch."

Halt raised an eyebrow at her. "I think you mean 'death's doorstep,'" he corrected her. "Though I probably spent a fair amount of time on his porch."

"Yes, that is what I meant," she confirmed before continuing, "I thought that, since you have been ill, we could simply speak in Toscan today in order to practice."

"_Adesso?_" Halt inqured.

"_Sì, per favore_," she replied.

"_Bene. Come va, Lia?_" he asked.

"_Va bennissimo. Tuoi fratelli sempre mi fanno occupato. Tua sorella-le piace insegnare toscano, davvero?_" she answered.

"_Le piace moltisimo la lingua toscana_," Halt revealed.

"_Moltissssimo_," Lia amended.

Halt continued, "_Dice che è una lingua belissima e dulce, come zuccero_."

"_Belllllllissima come zucchero_," Lia corrected him.

"_La mia pronunzia sempre sarà pessimo_," Halt grumbled.

"_Pronuncia_," she said quickly before continuing. "_Non è vero-parli toscano con la facilità di un uomo che l'ha parlato per molti anni_."

Halt furrowed his eyebrows. "Really?"

"_Toscano, per favore_."

"_Davvero?_" he rectified.

"_Sì. Ma...qualche volta, commetti errori-come tutti. È detto, 'Sbagliare è umano_,'" she quoted

"'_...perdonare è divina_,'" Halt finished.

"_Sì. Benissimo_," she replied, both pleased and impressed that he knew the saying-it was one of her favorites.

Her mind was prepared to drift off into blissful thoughts of Halt, but she mentally beat the urge into submission.

_This would be much simpler if he did not use his words so well_, she realized.

* * *

><p>The past week had been steeped in disappointment for Ferris. Poisoning Halt's shrimp had been maddeningly unhelpful-if anything, it'd just made people feel sorry for the torture that his brother had supposedly gone through. Of course, no one knew that it was worse for Ferris-he'd failed to attain the one thing that was important to him.<p>

_Well, one of the things_, he mentally amended as he saw Lia in the library.

Halt was sitting across from her, presumably catching up on his Toscan lessons. Lia had stopped tutoring Halt privately a couple of weeks ago, but Ferris was still slightly suspicious of the relationship that might exist between these two.

"_...belissima e dulce, come zuccero_."

Ferris fumed as he heard what his brother had said to Lia. "_ZuccHero_," he muttered. "If you're trying to compliment her, at least pronounce it correctly."

Now he'd failed twice-Halt still had the crown _and_ Lia. Ferris felt fury fly through his veins. Halt had lied to Ferris _repeatedly_ about being Lia's lover. _What on earth does he have that I don't?_ Ferris pondered. _Aside from the crown._

The thought only infuriated him further, reminding him of how often he was cheated out of things.

He'd failed in his first solid attempt to take the crown that should've been his. Now he would regain the other thing that Halt had taken from him.

* * *

><p><em>ragno<em> - spider

_c'è la vita_ - that's life [lit. "there is the life"]

_come si dice_ - how is it said/what does one call it

_buon compleanno e tanti auguri_ - happy birthday and best wishes

_consonati_ - consonants

[just for reference's sake, _fermata_ = halt! (as in a command; it's also the thing that tells you to hold a note, if you happen to know how to read music) and _fermare_ = to halt (the verb)]

_adesso?_ - now?

_Sì, per favore_ - yes, please

_Bene. Come va...?_ - All right. How goes it...?

_Va bennissimo. Tuoi fratelli sempre mi fanno occupato. Tua sorella-le piace insegnare toscano, davvero?_ - It goes well. Your siblings always keep me busy. Your sister-she likes to learn Toscan, right?

_Le piace moltissimo la lingua toscana_ - She likes the Toscan language a lot.

_Dice che è una lingua bellissima e dulce, come zucchero_ - She says that it's a beautiful and sweet language, like sugar.

_La mia pronuncia sempre sarà pessimo_ - My pronunciation will always be very bad.

_Non è vero-parli toscano con la facilità di un uomo che l'ha parlato per molti anni_ - That's not true-you speak Toscan with the ease of a man who has spoken it for many years.

_Davvero?_ - Really?

_Sì. Ma...qualche volta, commetti errori-come tutti. È detto, 'Sbagliare è umano'_ - Yes. But...sometimes, you make mistakes-like everyone. It is said, 'To err is human.'

_perdonare è divina_ - to forgive, divine

_benissimo_ - very good


	4. Scream If No One Hears

**A/N: Well, I figured I might as well post chapter four, since chapter five is already complete and chapter six is already started.**

**Oh yeah, and I can't forget the epic facepalm that fell upon me a couple days ago. I was flipping through **_**The Emperor of Nihon-Ja**_** and realized that the country in which they speak Toscan is actually called Toscana, not Tosca. I don't know how I missed that before (because I remember looking it up to make sure), but...I did and I apologize for my whopper mistake. From now on, I will refer to it by its proper name.**

**Also, I decided to include the translation of Ferris's letter right after the thing in Toscan/Italian because I figured that no one would want to scroll to the bottom of the chapter in order to figure out what it says. Speaking of which, that thing was torture to write-there are **_**so**_** many mistakes. And some of Ferris's words got...*ahem* lost in translation, so I put the proper English words in parentheses. Please do not try to learn Italian from that letter. There are more mistakes than I even want to think about.**

**Whew, that was a lot to say. Hopefully this chapter lives up to the standard. Reviews make my day. :) Speaking of making my day, thank you to everyone who wished me well with my birthday and college!**

**I do not own **_**Ranger's Apprentice**_**. Dratblangit.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>A few months later...<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Lia, I have something for you," Ferris announced as he handed Lia a sheet of parchment.<p>

"Extra writing?" she asked.

He nodded in affirmation.

Lia couldn't help but be impressed by his drive. The younger O'Carrick twin might make her rather uncomfortable at times, but she was always happy to see that her students were practicing their Toscan without being asked. "_Grazie mille_, Ferris."

"_Non c'è di che_," he replied before leaving the library.

Lia began to read the paper that he'd left for her. The excitement over seeing Ferris put extra effort towards his Toscan left her immediately as she realized what the paper was-a love letter.

* * *

><p><em>Cara mia,<em>

_Ho pensato di te da allora abbiamo guardato un altro. Sei come un angelo di fiori, sempre portando la vita a la terra. Il tuo capello marrone è la cosa più bella che ho veduto-sogno di mettendo i miei diti per il capello. Balla nella luce de le torte._

_I tuoi labbri sono russo come fuori. Sarà un sonno avergli tocca miniera-sono morbidi, come la carezza di amore. E non posso continui senza parlando di i tuoi giochi noccioli e avvenente-brilla come stalle nella cielo di la notte._

_Tesora, ci voglio essere uno per tutto di tempo. Il tuo nome dolcetta è sempre dentro di la mia bocca. So che, come una ragazza di più anni, sai molto di amore, ma spero che le mie parole sono fresci, come verdure verde._

_Sempre ti vendo in la mia testa, i tuoi occhi infiamatti con amore nuovo, il tuo capello splendente in la luce. Voglio prenderti e metterti sulla cappelli e guidare nel tramonto con te in i miei armi. La tua presenza è cibo e bevande per il mio cuore. Voglio tenerti in i miei armi e non lasciarti mai._

_Puzzi come sei di un mondo pieno di luce e magia. Se eri più piccola e più bella, sarai una farfalle, volante sulle ali di amore. Vivi in il mio cuore come un ciottoloito bello._

_Ti chiedo essere mio solo perchè sono tua-cervello, corso, e anima._

_Principe Ferris_

* * *

><p>My dear,<p>

I have thought of you always since we first looked at one another. You are like an angel of flowers, always bringing the life to the earth. Your brown hat (hair) is the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen-I dream of putting my fingers through the hat (hair). It dances in the light of the cakes (torches).

Your lips are red like outside (flowers). It will (would) be a sleep (dream) to have them touch mine-they are soft, like the caress of love. And I cannot continue without speaking of your lovely hazel games (eyes)-they shine like stables (stars) in the night sky.

Darling, I want us to be one for all time. Your sweet name is always inside of my mouth. I know that, as an older girl [lit. "as a girl of more years"], you know much of love, but I hope that my words are fresh, like green vegetables.

I always sell (see) you in my head, your eyes flaming with new love, your hat (hair) shining in the light. I want to take you and put you on the hair (horse) and ride into the sunset with you in my arms. Your presence is food and drink for my heart. I want to hold you in my arms and never let go.

You smell like you are from a world full of of light and magic. If you were smaller and prettier, you would be a butterfly, alight on the wings of love. You live in my heart like a beautiful little pebble.

I ask you to be mine only because I am already yours-brain, course (body), and spirit.

Prince Ferris

* * *

><p>Lia had seen continual little hints of flirtation from Ferris since she'd arrived, which made her uncomfortable around the younger O'Carrick twin, but this...it was too far. She'd begun reading the letter as though it were written to someone else, but as soon as he'd said something about the recipient being "a girl of more years," she'd realized what she was holding. She would have to speak with him about it, possibly telling the king and queen that...<p>

_Tell them what? That their son is harassing me? It is my word against his-and he could easily make it look like he was only giving me the letter to edit_, she thought.

She remembered how Ferris had reacted the last time she'd shown emotion around him-even a bit of negative emotion made the boy's heart beat double time. _Silent rejection_, she reminded herself.

If she was going to discourage Ferris, she'd have to play the fool. She'd originally thought that the paper had been a bit of practice writing-and that is how she would treat it. Perhaps he would ignore such a silent and firm rejection.

She continued to hold the parchment awkwardly, wondering what on earth to do with this thing. _Well, he gave me this to edit_, she pondered, _so I will correct him._

A smile spread slowly across Lia's face as she thought of what to do with the letter. _If he could feel half as uncomfortable from this as I did from his letter, it will be benefici_al, she decided.

* * *

><p>"We'll be doing something rather different today," Lia said to Halt at the beginning of his next lesson. She'd been continually thinking of ideas to keep Halt somewhat interested in Toscan since it was too cold to have lessons outside. "I have a letter for you to edit."<p>

Halt arched an eyebrow. "You think I'm ready for that?" he inquired skeptically.

"What you will be editing was written by someone whose skill in writing is...less developed than yours," she clarified. "I think you will find this...rather entertaining."

She slid a piece of parchment across the table. "Please tell me every time you find a mistake," she requested.

_He will never stop talking_, she realized. The letter had been riddled with obvious mistakes-apparently, Ferris had been so interested in pouring emotion into the letter that he'd neglected its grammar.

Halt frowned as he looked at the paper. "'You are like an angel of flowers?'" he quoted. "And it should be _alla_ not _a la_."

Lia nodded, biting back a giggle.

"_I miei dite_," Halt amended. "And I'm assuming that it should be _capelli_, not _capello_-it might be difficult for this person to put his fingers through a brown hat."

He read a bit more of the letter, shaking his head. "Fresh like green vegetables?" he wondered, smiling momentarily.

"Oh, it grows worse. The part about the butterfly..." Lia added, giggling. "It is lacking in things other than grammar."

"'You live in my heart like a beautiful little pebble?' How on earth is _that_ romantic?" Halt wondered, smiling slightly in amusement.

"Do not forget about the grammar," Lia reminded him, smiling.

Halt's eyes jumped back to the top of the page. As he scanned for mistakes, he noticed something-the loops on the letter 'g' were massive and ornate._ Just like Ferris's_, he realized, finally understanding what was in front of him.

"Lia," he began, "why in the world do you have a love letter from my brother?"

She knew that she couldn't pass it off as a simple piece of work to be edited-Halt had asked her about Ferris before. "I would prefer not to speak of that," she told him rather firmly.

He could tell from how she spoke that there was no in-between in her feelings for Ferris. "Then...can you tell me what you think of it?" he inquired.

Lia hesitated momentarily before replying, "I am not ready for...all this. And if I were, it would not be with your brother-though I mean no offense to him."

Halt nodded, understanding that she wasn't keen on discussing the subject. "Ferris can be...persuasive in his own way," Halt said. "Don't do anything that you don't want to."

"Believe me, I do not plan on it," she reassured him. "Now, I believe that there are a few more mistakes to be fixed."

* * *

><p>Ferris had been waiting eagerly for his next lesson, wondering what Lia would say about his letter. As he sat down in his usual spot, she slid a piece of paper across the table at him. "Not your best work, Ferris, but a valiant effort," she said neutrally.<p>

Looking down at it, he saw that it was the letter-complete with corrections of his various grammatical and translation errors. "You _edited_ my love letter?" he asked, shocked and moderately horrified.

Lia looked at him, her expression emotionless. "Actually, I have been thinking about the benefits of having my students edit one another's work, so I only assisted in correcting this," she clarified.

He looked at her, speechless. "You...someone else read it?" he wondered.

"I am sorry if it bothers you, but it was only to correct the mistakes. The next time your brother writes something for me, I will have you edit it," she explained.

Ferris's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Halt _read_ this?" he nearly shouted.

Lia bit her lip uncomfortably. "Only to edit it. He assured me that he had no intention of informing any...future recipients of this letter," she stated.

"But you..."

"I will not breathe a word, Ferris. It is my job to teach you Toscan, not to meddle in your personal life," she told him firmly.

Frustrated, he gave up. Either she was completely naive or she was pretending-probably the latter. He fumed through the rest of his lesson, wondering what to do. She'd _completely_ ignored every hint he'd given her. The only excuse for her behavior could be that she was with someone else.

Halt.

Of course. Everything pointed to a relationship between them-Halt's extra lessons, the lack of emotion around Ferris, the snatches of conversations he'd heard. It was time to be blindingly direct. It was his only option. Lia might be with Halt, but Ferris was determined to change that somehow.

Ferris did his best to maintain focus-things had been better between him and Lia when he'd been doing his best in Toscan. By the end of a lesson, he'd finally decided what to do about his..._situation_. "Lia?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, Ferris?" she replied.

"Well..." he hedged, "I have some other things to do during the day on Thursday, so I was wondering if you could move my lesson to a later time."

Lia paused for a moment in thought. "Halt and Caitlyn both have lessons after you on that day," she informed him, "but I believe that this can work as long as you do not mind meeting here rather late-after you dine, perhaps?"

"That would be _excellent_," Ferris replied. "Thank you, Lia."

_If only you knew how helpful you'd been._

* * *

><p>It was rather late as Ferris and Lia left the library that evening. It had been a rather long and busy day for Lia-Thursdays always were, since she taught all three of the O'Carrick children. She walked through the corridors of Dun Kilty towards her room, ready to go directly to bed, though it was still rather early.<p>

Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist. She let out a small gasp of shock before looking up to see Ferris.

"Ferris!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Just follow," he commanded, practically dragging her down the corridor a few paces and into a small alcove.

"_Dammi un bacio_," he said, looking directly into her eyes.

Without missing a beat, Lia replied, "In Toscana, we do not like the sounds of 'n' and 'b' together-it is too harsh. One would instead say _dammi um bacio_."

"I don't _care_ how to say it," he growled. "Kiss me."

He took a few steps closer to her until she was practically backed against the well. Lia tried to force her mind away from what was happening so that she might gain some sort of control over the situation, but...he was so close. _Too_ close.

Her eyes, which were beginning to widen with fear, met Ferris's for a fraction of a second, and she saw that although he held himself with confidence, his eyes were moving more than normal. _He's nervous_, she reminded herself.

_A nervous man can still do plenty of damage,_ she added bitterly.

"Ferris, I am your tutor," she stated. "This behavior is..."

"You're barely older than me!" he exclaimed, cutting her off.

She sighed to herself. "It is not a matter of age, Ferris. It is of propriety-you are the prince and I am...well, a simple Toscan woman," she explained.

"Yes, I am your prince," Ferris pondered. "Which means that, on some level, you answer to me."

"I answer to your parents first and foremost-both as my employers and as my king and queen."

Ferris groaned in frustration before saying, "They can't control your heart, though, can they?"

"No, I suppose they cannot," she admitted.

"There!" he exclaimed. "I knew it from the beginning. You've taken Halt as your lover."

"_What_?" Lia inquired, completely shocked. Ferris's feelings for her had been fairly obvious, but...had she really done anything to indicate that she and Halt were more than casual friends? "I assure you, Ferris, there is nothing of that sort between Halt and me."

He snorted. "I've heard the things you talk about. The extra lessons weren't exactly a subtle gesture either," he snapped.

All this time, he'd been inching closer to her, bringing Lia closer and closer to her breaking point. Her emotions were barely restrained, knowing that his body was mere centimeters away from her own.

"Kiss me," he hissed, leaning so close to her that their noses were almost touching. "You can even pretend I'm him-we're identical, you know."

The flash of anger that Lia felt was the only thing that kept her from falling into a panic attack or bursting into tears.

It didn't stop her from smacking Ferris across the face.

They both stood still for a moment, shocked by what had just happened. Ferris slowly stepped away from her, then continued to meander down the corridor, still trying to wrap his head around the situation.

As soon as he was out of sight, Lia ran blindly, stopping at another alcove. She leaned against the wall, breathing hard. Her breath began to come in short little bursts. Lia knew what was happening, but...

_Non posso fermare...o cieli sopri, aiutami!_

Tears spilled down her face as she slid to the floor. She was hyperventilating now, but her mind was rushing too quickly to do anything about it. She'd just slapped one of the princes of Clonmel, but...what else could she do? He'd been so close, too close, close enough to...

"Lia!"

The voice cracked through the silence like a whip. Lia's head snapped up at the sound of her name; when she saw Halt, she immediately started shaking her head and motioning him away.

"Breathe," he commanded her, crouching down a few feet away.

Her breathing slowed slightly. "Slowly now," he said. "Breathe in now."

She obeyed, drawing a long slow breath. "Now breathe out," he ordered her.

Again, she listened. She was back in control now-well, somewhat in control, at least.

"What...?" She couldn't finish the question; she was still somewhat winded.

"Well, the two of you weren't exactly quiet," Halt remarked sardonically. "What on earth happened?"

Lia took a few deep breaths before explaining, "Ferris. He was...too close; he wanted me to kiss him, and I did not. I slapped him."

Halt's eyebrows met in confusion. He'd heard of women doing ridiculous things, but Lia didn't seem like that sort. "There _must_ be more than that," he commented, hoping for some sort of logical explanation.

The sound of footsteps echoed lightly down the hallway. "Go!" Lia hissed, pushing Halt away from her as she pulled herself to her feet.

It was obviously not a good time to ask Lia what was wrong. He glanced at her before walking away.

A few moments later, Ferris appeared around the bend, striding purposefully towards Lia. "I am not done with this," he muttered, looking her in the eyes.

She was too terrified to note that, although he spoke as though he was in control of the situation, he didn't dare get close to her again.

* * *

><p>Halt walked more quickly than normal to his Toscan lesson. He wanted to know why Lia had been so upset last night-it couldn't be simply because Ferris had gotten a little too close to her. <em>And how much damage could she do with a slap if she was that upset?<em>

In answer to his question, Ferris walked by him, scowling. A large section of his left cheek bore a nasty looking bruise. Halt's eyebrows went up-it looked awful, but the people who were brave-or stupid-enough to do such a thing to royalty were rare.

He found Lia in her usual corner. At a glance, she appeared as composed as she normally was, but when Halt looked closer, he saw that she was drumming her fingers nervously on the table as her eyes darted nervously about the room. Before he even sat down, she said, "I think that it would be best if we were not to have a lesson today."

Few things could have surprised Halt as much as Lia's suggestion. She'd never allowed Halt to miss one minute of a Toscan lesson-he was taught through the entire lesson time. Even if he was a bit late, Lia would make him stay later than normal in order to make up for lost time. "That's unexpected," he muttered.

"Well, last night, Ferris expressed some...suspicion that you and I were lovers and he appears to be quite jealous, so I thought that it might be best if he did not see you with me-even if it is only for a lesson," she clarified.

Halt shook his head. "He's always been like that-if he wants something, there has to be someone standing in his way, otherwise it'd be his," he stated.

"I think that it would also be best if your lessons were a bit shorter-for the same reason," she added.

_Could she shock me any further?_ he wondered to himself before asking her, "Lia...whatever he did last night-was it _that_ bad?"

She paused for a moment, analyzing the situation. "For an ordinary person, no," she stated.

"And you're not ordinary?"

"Not in this case."

He bit his lip, hoping that she wouldn't find his next question too personal. "Lia, I've sat through entire lessons with you and haven't seen you show a flicker of emotion-and suddenly, last night, I find you cowered against the wall, panicking like someone who's just committed a deadly sin," he told her, trying to keep his tone level. "There's something more and, quite frankly, since it bothered you so greatly that you slapped Ferris, I'd like to know what it is."

There was a long silence between them before Lia finally inquired, "Do you want the entire story or just details?"

"Ultimately, I think it'd save time if you told me the whole thing now," Halt decided.

"Very well," she consented. "Please forgive me if I need to stop or if I fall back into Toscan-it is not an easy thing to speak of."

Halt nodded his consent, wondering what could be so troubling.

"It began in Toscana, obviously. I was raised in a well-off family with five older brothers. The first several years have nothing to do with what you are curious about, so I will spare you the details. It is when I was eleven that I was kidnapped."

"By whom?" Halt asked.

"No-kidnapped is not the word that I need. I was taken-by a man who ran a brothel."

* * *

><p><em>grazie mille<em> - thank you very much (lit. "thanks a thousand")

_Non c'è di che_ - no problem/you're welcome (lit. "there is nothing of that")

_alla_ - to the

_i miei dite_ - my fingers

_capelli_ - hair

_capello_ - hat

_dammi un bacio_ - give me a kiss [and yes, the stuff about not liking the N and B sounds together is legitimate]

_non posso fermare...o cieli sopri, aiutami!_ - I can't stop...oh heavens above, help me!


	5. Lia Bisharra

**A/N: Chapter five-in which Lia's backstory is revealed. :) Some parts of this chapter are in her POV (like the beginning, so don't be too alarmed), which I'm sure you can distinguish.**

**I am officially moved into my dorm! Classes don't start until Monday, but...wow, it's actually real. *stares in shock* So this is my present to all of you-because I don't know when another chapter's gonna be coming out. Thank you for being such epically awesome readers. :) **

**Also, I was just wondering if anyone would be interested in seeing the pronunciations written out phonetically (I'd just put them at the bottom of the chapter next to the translations) or, if you want to actually hear them (in this case, I'd upload YouTube videos of me saying the phrases in Italian/Toscan). I'd be happy to do either or both, since I don't have an Italian language class until second semester and I need to keep practicing.**

**Oh yeah...and I'm glad that all of you were amused by Ferris's love letter-it was absolute torture to write, but apparently my efforts weren't in vain. :D**

**Anywhoozle (that is _so_ not a word, but I think it should be and I'm an English major, so...), enjoy and hopefully I'll have a new chapter up fairly soon! :)**

* * *

><p>I was out walking rather late one night-I had done it before and knew that it was not the most wise thing that I could do, but nothing happened until the night I was taken. It happened so quickly-he was talking to me one moment and the next, he was pressing a cloth against my mouth.<p>

Several hours later, I woke up on a bed in a small room. There was a woman there who explained the situation to me-she told me where I was and what I was expected to do. I told her that I did not want to-no, that is not what I mean to say. I told her that I would not do it. She looked at me and told me that I had to-it was not possible for me to escape that place. I still refused, even after she told me that it would hurt more.

A few minutes later, a man came into the room-I still remember him so well. He-well, I am sure you can figure out what he did. It was...I experienced the same thing over and over, but nothing was..._peggio_-worse-than that.

It...I, ah...continuing, that happened for the next four years-several times a day, a man would enter and have his way. I did try to run, several times, but they are accustomed to young girls doing that sort of thing, so-they punish us for our disobedience.

There are men, some who come often, and many...they are not kind. They were-they...the women who try to escape are the ones who these men...

* * *

><p>"Stop," Halt told her quietly. He could see that Lia was distraught; in fact, it would be a shock if she wasn't. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so."<p>

"This is the only part that is so difficult," she explained. "We all have those moments that we wish to forget, but it is impossible to do so-yet that does not make it any less painful to relive them."

Halt nodded sadly; she was literally on the verge of tears and he wanted to comfort her somehow-just a simple gesture, such as placing his hand over hers for a moment-but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "I see why you don't like being near people-it must remind you of that," he remarked.

"You are correct-that is why I slapped Ferris last night. I was frightened and he said something that angered me, so...that controlled me for a moment," she confessed.

"Nice work, by the way," Halt nearly whispered. "I think he asked for that."

Lia shook her head. "_That_ was nothing more than stupidity," she said. "I risked my position here in Dun Kilty-and any other hope of finding work in your country-for that moment."

"Lia, I understand that you were quite literally forced to let men do whatever they wanted with you for a long time," he began. "That does not mean that you have to let Ferris walk all over you."

She sighed heavily before replying, "I would not hesitate to tell another man more directly. Your brother, though-he is a prince of Clonmel. If I tell him so directly, there is no way to know what he might do-or what he could tell your parents to do. Besides, after last night...he may know how I feel about being near to others."

"So what you're saying is that my brother can do anything he wants simply because he's Prince Ferris O'Carrick?" Halt asked.

"Ultimately, he can," she replied.

Halt shook his head. "All right, maybe he can, but if he decides to go on a mad killing rampage just because he thinks he can get away with it, so you think that everyone will just stand by and let him do whatever he wants just because he's royalty?"

"I suppose you make a point," Lia said. "But what I have done could already ruin my position."

"Lia, if Ferris tries to do _anything_ to force you out of Dun Kilty, I'll do whatever I can to stop him," Halt promised her.

"Thank you," she responded. "I have not met a man as kind as you since-well, I suppose that this brings us back to my story."

* * *

><p>You cannot imagine how long every moment of those years was for me-there was no way out that I could see. Things did get slightly easier-I learned to not think about what was happening while it was happening. There are old tricks to do this; I often would count the bricks in the wall or cracks on the ceiling. Sometimes, though, that was not enough. At those times, I would recall the Araluan that I knew and would make sentences for myself to translate. That is how I began to love your language-it was my escape. Thinking back, I was quite horrible at it, but it did keep me connected to a better place.<p>

Then, finally, something happened. It is not...a talked about subject, but in Toscana, the younger girls who are in brothels are sometimes only there until they, ah...become women, if you understand. When this happens, the girl-ah, now a woman-is given a choice. She can stay and earn a little money from what she does, but they will have to do things to her so that she cannot have children. If she chooses to leave, she is thrown into the street in only the clothing she now wears.

When it was my time to choose, I left, even though I knew I was a ways from home. I hated it there and did not care if I was dumped in the street with no money. I was nearly at a place that many people dream to reach. It is a very famous Toscan language school-_L'istituzione delle lingue_-perhaps you have heard of it.

* * *

><p>"My former Toscan tutor talked about it <em>constantly<em>. He practically worshipped the place," Halt interjected.

"Was that where he studied Toscan?" Lia inquired.

"No-he tried, but he wasn't accepted," Halt explained.

"It is very difficult to become a student," Lia clarified. "I will not lie to you-I was accepted into the school more out of pity than anything else."

* * *

><p>I can only imagine how it was for them to find me waiting at the gates to their school-a girl of fifteen, clearly dressed as a whore. I asked to speak with someone so that I might discuss enrollment to study Araluan. They brought me in and sent me to a room-alone with a man. Naturally, I was scared of what he might do, so I stood as far away from him as I could. He wondered why I had come here and I told him what I told you. He asked me to say some things in Araluan before asking me why I wanted to pursue the language.<p>

After I answered all of his questions, he told me this-something that I have never allowed myself to forget.

"Lia," he told me, "you are a long ways away from the standard that is normally set for students. Normally, I would send you back to your family right now, but I can see that you are passionate about the language. If I'm correct, your passion might be enough for you to learn Araluan-but if it isn't, you'll be sent off to your nearest relative."

This man was the one who became my tutor. The first several months were...very difficult. I spent much time on my studies and barely could interact with the other students-but all of this was worth it. A year after I arrived, my tutor informed me that I had progressed at a shocking rate-which was a surprise to me, since he rarely spoke praise to me. That is why I teach you and your siblings in such a manner-it is better to always be pushing ahead than to be content with less because of excess praise.

Until then, I had not thought much of what I wanted to do with myself after graduating, but three options were essentially before me-translating, interpreting, or teaching. Before you ask if translating and interpreting are the same thing, they are not-when a book is changed from Toscan to Araluan, that is translation. When you tell me something in Araluan and I repeat it in Toscan, it is interpretation.

I worked a bit with translation and interpretation and liked them, but to me they were, ah, _come si dice_, hobbies-I did not want to make work of them. I had always admired my tutor-he had been so patient with me and understood that I still was not comfortable around men. If I could only be half of what he had been to me for someone else, it would be the best thing in life. It was the end of my second year when I decided that I wanted to teach-but not in Toscana. I wanted to put myself into a different country and teach them my language because I did not want to forget Toscan.

I was quite stuck between Hibernia and Araluen for a very long time-it would be very easy to find work in Araluen, but I had heard so many wonderful tales of Hibernia's beauty-when my teacher gave me an old Hibernian story to translate-it is the history of the Claddagh ring, which I am sure you know.

* * *

><p>"And, of course, that's what brought you here," Halt concluded. In response to her surprised look, he added, "You read stories about the Sunrise Warrior in your spare time, so obviously you have some sort of interest in Hibernian legends."<p>

"They have interested me for a long time, yes," she replied. "So that is what sent me here after one more year of learning. Arrangements were made for me to take a trading ship to Hibernia so that I would be able to use my skills. Before I left, my tutor spoke with me. He told me that he was glad that I had chosen Hibernia-he believed that I would find much happiness here.

"He then gave me this, so that I would not forget what brought me to Hibernia," she finished, holding out her right hand.

Halt had noticed somewhere in the back of his mind that Lia always wore a Claddagh ring, but he'd never paid very much attention to it-nearly every woman in Hibernia had one. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to her hand.

Lia nodded her consent, offering him her hand. Halt took it gingerly-honestly, he was more interested in touching her hand than inspecting her ring, which was slightly odd, since she was his tutor and he wasn't supposed to be feeling that way.

"I will not break, you know," she pointed out rather dryly.

"Right," he muttered, sliding his fingers under hers. "It's well-made."

He actually had no idea if it was well-made or not, but he couldn't just hold her hand and say nothing-that could take this moment into what was uncharted territory for Halt. Strangely, he didn't think he'd mind it with Lia...

"Thank you," she replied, cautiously sliding her hand away from Halt's. "I believe that this covers your lesson for the day-unless you have any more questions for me."

Halt shook his head before saying, "Thank you, Lia-I know that it's a difficult subject to discuss."

She nodded once. "I will see you soon, then."

"Until later," he bid her, walking away.

Once he was out of sight, Lia sighed heavily. If he only had an idea of how his kindness was affecting her feelings for him...

She'd finally admitted to herself that she was beginning to think about him in a romantic sense-so many of the things that he did made her heart somersault in her chest. And no one had shown so much concern for her well-being since she'd been at home in Toscana with her brothers.

Lia shook her head, putting thoughts of Halt aside. She had plenty of things to do that she'd put off since last night, none of them concerning her feelings for Halt.

* * *

><p>Lia Bisharra.<p>

That name meant so much more to Halt than it had a week ago. Now that he knew exactly why she'd moved to Hibernia, why she'd studied the Araluan language for so many years, he couldn't help but admire her drive. She hadn't skulked around a brothel, hoping to make enough money to take a ship to Araluen-she'd taken a bit of a risk and, in doing so, had seized her own destiny. She wasn't the sort of woman who'd live in fear-and Halt had seen that passion burning in her hazel eyes. He couldn't believe he'd never noticed them before-when the rest of her face was stoic, her eyes often were alight with whatever she was feeling.

Come to think of it, she really _was_ quite lovely all around-not that Halt would ever tell her, but knowing who she was and what she'd done had caused Halt to see her differently. He'd wanted to say something today, but hadn't quite found the right words. Now that he knew what she'd lived through, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. _Lord knows she's met enough men like that_, Halt thought.

And, of course, there was the ever-present matter of Ferris, which, quite frankly, Halt wasn't worried about. _If I feel this way about her, I'll tell her. Somehow_, he decided.

He'd do it as soon as he was sure that it was a lasting thing-Halt wasn't about to sit on his feelings for weeks on end, even if he wasn't exactly experienced in the world of romance. Besides, he didn't want to build up some great hope of love with Lia only to find out that she didn't feel the same way. Contrastingly, he didn't want to act _too_ quickly and figure out that there really was nothing but simple admiration.

Suddenly, he realized that Ferris had done everything that Halt planned on avoiding. _Only Ferris isn't exactly accepting her rejection_, he thought.

Halt needed to spend some time thinking about what to do about this situation, so he decided to go out and practice with the sword. It always seemed to help him find answers, probably because he took out all of his negative emotion out on the practice dummy.

A completely clear head would make this situation much easier to deal with, he decided as he took a wooden sword out of the storage room. He strode towards the practice dummy, making a loose mental map of the combinations he was going to practice.

Fighting was the only area in which Halt knew that his skills surpassed those of his brother. Ferris wasn't fond of physical exertion, whereas Halt loved the feelings that came with a good bout of practice fighting-the adrenaline rush, the feeling of control over his own destiny, and the knowledge that there _was_ something that he could do well.

Usually, Halt would go out to practice when he was furious in order to purge himself. He didn't feel that burning anger in his chest now, but there was something else there-his feelings for Lia, reaching out and taking up entirely too much of his mind.

_Time to change that_, he thought as he delivered the first whack to the dummy. Several more hits followed, each one clearing Halt's head further and further. After a few minutes, his mind was a long way away from his newfound troubles.

* * *

><p>Lia was on her way down to the kitchens for a late dinner-she'd spent the majority of her day after Halt's "lesson" getting caught up on her work. Her head was still spinning between Toscan and Araluan as she bumped into someone.<p>

"Oh, _scusimi_-ah, I mean, excuse me!" she exclaimed, looking down at the person she'd walked into.

Halt stood before her, covered in a sheen of sweat, his tunic half unbuttoned. Lia felt her cheeks flame-she _really_ shouldn't be thinking about how attractive he was or how it would feel if he stepped towards her and...

This time, she felt the blush all over her body. "I am sorry-my mind was elsewhere," she apologized.

Halt, who had never seen Lia quite so flustered, mistook her embarrassed attraction for discomfort. He took two large steps away from her, saying, "You can't just blame yourself-I wasn't paying attention either. Besides, you've had a lot to think about in the past day."

Lia let out a short laugh. "I have barely thought of that since we spoke earlier. I have been correcting papers, practicing my Toscan-anything to keep my mind away from that," she replied.

Halt raised an eyebrow at her. "Practicing your Toscan?" he inquired.

"Yes. It has been a long while since I spoke it at a normal speed, so I sometimes speak aloud to myself in order to keep in practice," she clarified.

"I'd hate to hear that," he muttered, trying to end the conversation-he was beginning to feel slightly self-conscious about his disheveled state, which normally wouldn't have bothered him, except that Lia looked so lovely, especially with her hair down like that.

"You are probably not as far from it as you believe," Lia told him. "We will practice it soon."

Halt rolled his eyes quickly, though he felt more relieved than anything-he could end the conversation now without sounding rude. "Well-until later then," he said, nodding to her.

He continued down the hallway, forcing himself to breathe slowly. For the moment that his body had touched hers, he'd wondered what it would be like to be so close to her for longer than that. Obviously, something like that would make Lia very uncomfortable at this point, so he wouldn't be doing it for a long time. _Can't say I blame her-after what she went through, dealing with Ferris's flirtation must be torture_, he thought.

He was certain now that he had to approach her slowly and be more emotional than physical in showing his feeling for her. _Which I've never been good at_, he realized dryly.

* * *

><p>It had been far too long now. Ferris had been thinking for half a year and had done absolutely <em>nothing<em> to eliminate Halt. Even his attempt to woo Lia had failed. _If I could only think of something, two problems would be solved_, he lamented.

He looked down from the high path along which he was strolling. Halt was walking not too far away, probably heading down to show off his skill with the blade. As Ferris's eyes drifted back up, he noticed a pile of roofing tiles in front of his feet.

_Finally._

Ferris almost laughed with joy-he'd been so keyed up about this situation for months and the solution was literally sitting at his feet-as long as his timing was perfect. He watched Halt closely, waiting for him to come close enough.

Now.

He felt satisfaction in every centimeter of his being as he shoved the tiles down at his brother, watching them fall. But Halt hadn't been quite as cooperative-Ferris had counted on not being seen by his brother. However, Halt, who always had a keen eye for detail, had seen Ferris just a moment before the tiles fell.

That moment literally saved Halt's life.

The pain of having hundreds of pounds dropped on his leg made him yell loud enough to shake the foundations of Dun Kilty, but at least he was alive-though with Ferris's plotting, that might not last very long.

* * *

><p>Lia felt as if she'd been hearing Halt's name everywhere. It was probably just these feelings that had been burrowing in her chest for the past few months. Apparently, she'd done an admirable job of keeping them hidden-Halt, who never missed a thing, hadn't made any comments about her acting differently. Of course, she'd been forced to play a part in front of men, though she was used to feigning attraction instead of hiding it.<p>

She was heading down to the kitchens for a cup of coffee-not that she was in need of the extra energy; she'd been pacing all morning, worrying about...well, something.

"_Ciao_!" she called as cheerfully as she could as she walked into the kitchens.

There was a rather subdued murmur-a definite contrast to the cheery greeting she typically received. "Have I missed something?" she wondered as she reached for a cup.

"Seems y'have," one of the cooks began. "The young Prince Halt was havin' a stroll earlier when near a ton o'the roof tiles just up an' fell on 'is leg!"

Lia heard the sound of breaking china somewhere in the background, wondering who'd dropped something-everyone down here was always so careful. She looked down and saw a pile of broken china in front of her feet. "Oh, _mi dispiace...non ho intenzioni di farlo, ma sto così...così..._"

"Lia?"

She blinked a few times, trying to clear her head a little bit. Someone was already sweeping up her mess. "I am very sorry," she apologized.

"Quite all right, dear-here's your coffee. Now go have a sit and relax-the young prince'll be doin' fine."

Lia left the kitchens, still shocked. Halt had literally been centimeters away from death; if he'd been in the wrong spot, he would've been gone forever.

_Grazie, Dio-grazie mille-non posso ringraziarti abbastanza_, she silently prayed as she returned to her chambers. To say that she was thankful that none of the O'Carrick children had lessons today would be an impossibly massive understatement. She had all three of them in class tomorrow, but hopefully she'd be somewhat recovered by then.

Suddenly, she realized that she'd been speeding mindlessly through the corridors, completely directionless. Lia slowed her pace and took a cautious sip of the coffee in her hands. She wanted to go to Halt's chambers and make sure that he was all right, but to do so would be an obvious indication that she had special feelings for him. Besides, she was only his Toscan tutor-she would probably not be allowed to see him.

_And for now, that is best_, she decided.

* * *

><p>It really hadn't been a bad day for Halt-until he realized that Ferris was trying to kill him.<p>

It made sense in an odd sort of way-Ferris had always disliked Halt, since Halt was only older by seven minutes. It also explained the unexpected bout of "food poisoning" Halt had received several months ago-that was probably Ferris's first attempt. It was awful, though, knowing that his _brother_ wanted him dead so badly-they'd never been close, but Halt hadn't thought that Ferris's contempt for him ran this deep.

He couldn't tell anyone, of course-his parents had plenty of other things to worry about and Ferris had always been the more favored out of the twins. _Besides_, he wondered, _what am I supposed to say? "Hello Mother and Father, just dropping in to let you know that Ferris wants me dead."_

"HALT!"

A figure flew across the room towards Halt, stopping with its shins against the bed. "Sorry," Caitlyn apologized. "But thank God you're all right!"

She proceeded to embrace him so tightly that he was pinned back against the pillows of his bed. "So am I, but I don't try to suffocate myself because of it," he replied rather sarcastically, though he was smiling.

"They _really_ need to be more careful with those things-I mean, if you were in just a slightly different spot, you could be _dead_! I'm going to tell Mother and Father to-"

"Caitlyn," Halt cut her off. "It wasn't the builders' fault-it was Ferris."

Her jaw dropped in shock. "You're _sure_?" she asked.

"Positive," he replied. "And it wasn't an accident either-when I looked up after they fell, he looked _furious_. Cait, I've never seen him that mad."

"Well...what are you going to do?" she inquired, worried.

"Try to stay alive," Halt replied. "I can't exactly tell anyone-Mother and Father would never believe it."

Caitlyn nodded sadly. "I'll be watching out for you," she promised, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Cait," he replied softly.

They spoke of lighter things for a while before Caitlyn left Halt alone with his thoughts once more. As he expected, they turned to Lia. He knew that pursuing her was not a good idea since Ferris's envy had come to a head, but he needed to at least see what was there, if there was anything.

It'd be easier if she didn't keep so much of herself hidden. Her body language was always neutral, her tone was constant-even her hair was almost always pulled back. The only times he'd seen her with her hair down had been outside of his lessons.

_That explains it, then_, he realized. She wore her hair up because she didn't want to draw attention to it-she wanted to be seen as only a tutor, so she downplayed one of the things that strongly defined her as a woman. All he had to do was let her know that, to him, she was much more than just a Toscan tutor.

* * *

><p><em>peggio<em> - worse

_L'istituzione delle lingue_ - The Language School (lit. "the school of the languages")

_come si dice_ - how do you say/what do you call it

_scusimi_ - excuse me (polite)

_ciao_ - hi (informal)

_mi dispiace...non ho intenzioni di farlo, ma sto così...così..._ - I'm sorry...I didn't mean to do it (lit. "I didn't have intentions to do it"), but I am so...so...

_Grazie, Dio-grazie mille-non posso ringraziarti abbastanza_ - Thank you, God-thank you so much-I can't thank you enough


	6. Luce Del Sole

**A/N: WOW. That is all I really have to say about today. Things are all falling into place so quickly-I got a job in the language lab at my college and I already have a schedule, plus I'm adding another class (and trying to test out of one, haha) and I'm planning to do extracurriculars. WHEW! I'm excited, though, because I feel like I'll have a fair amount of time to write (obviously it's worked quite well, since the next chapter is up, haha) and I won't get overwhelmed. So yeah, that's my life.**

**Oh yeah, and the class I'm adding is going to be about ARTHURIAN MYTHOLOGY! I cannot express how excited I am! (Sorry, just had to share that, especially in case there are any **_**Merlin**_**/other Arthurian legend fans out there. :D)**

**So yeah, the next chapter...in which things get interesting. :) I should get a little pronunciation video that covers all of the chapters on YouTube on Friday morning-my username is xbree92x (horribly uncreative, I know), if you want to check that out.**

**I don't own **_**Ranger's Apprentice**_** or **_**Inferno/The Divine Comedy**_** (I couldn't resist putting that in there; I'm taking a class on the book.)**

* * *

><p><em>Knock knock knock.<em>

"Who is it?" Halt called. He was still bedridden, but the physicians said that he should be able to move around somewhat normally in a week or so.

"Lia," she called.

"Come in," he replied.

The door opened and Lia entered, carrying a small pile of books, some parchment, and some vines that looked like they'd come from the royal gardens. "Are you feeling up to a lesson today?" she inquired.

"Since you gave me the day off yesterday, I think I can manage it," he responded.

"I figured that you were still a bit shaken from your...incident," she explained. "Since we could not go outside today, I decided to bring some vines for you," she added, draping the vines over the table beside Halt's bed.

He raised an eyebrow. "You brought me _vines_?"

"Well, bringing flowers seemed rather odd and I am not sure how people would react if I cut down one of the trees," she clarified.

Halt was smiling now. "Thanks, Lia," he said.

She smiled back at him. "You seem to be doing well-and I am glad that you are still alive," she confessed.

Halt felt a rush of happiness, knowing that she cared about him in a small way-even if it was only the same relief that almost everyone else felt. "So am I," he muttered.

"I have brought one of my favorite things for you today," Lia told him, pulling a chair closer to the side of his bed. "It is one of the most important things ever written in Toscan-this was very important the foundation of the Toscan language as it is used today. It is a very long poem called _La Divina Commedia_-The Divine Comedy-about the poet's journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven."

She handed Halt one of the volumes. "This is written in the earliest version of Toscan, so you might not understand all of it, but the pronunciation is the same. Please begin reading whenever you feel comfortable," she stated.

Halt looked at the title of the volume: _Inferno_. "So we're beginning in hell?" he wondered, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"It is better to start off in the worst of places-then, things can only improve," she clarified.

He nodded in agreement before beginning, "_Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita/mi ritrovai per una selva oscura..._"

* * *

><p>Twice.<p>

He'd failed _twice_-and now Ferris was fairly certain that Halt knew. He'd seen his brother look up just before the tiles fell on him. Of course, no one would believe Halt-everyone knew that the brothers had never gotten along, but the notion that Ferris would try to kill Halt was too preposterous.

Ferris had put so much work into this-after he'd decided to take initiative and attain the crown of Clonmel for himself, he'd spent weeks searching for an effective method of killing Halt. He'd thought about hiring an assassin for a long while, but everyone in Dun Kilty knew who he was-and no one else could know what he was going to do.

He'd thrown away a few other theories before finally deciding to poison Halt-if done correctly, it was quick, effective, and untraceable.

_But I didn't do that correctly either._

Yesterday, everything had appeared to him as if fate had intentionally laid the cards in front of him, just waiting for him to pick them up and use them against Halt. But spontaneity hadn't worked either-and now Ferris was back to where he began.

It was more important than ever for him to take care of this situation. He couldn't let Halt have everything-he'd snatched the crown _and_ Lia from Ferris without looking back. Since Ferris's attempts to woo Lia had all been in vain, he decided that Halt's death was the only way to resolve both situations. After Halt's quick and unexpected death, Lia would need someone to comfort her. That was where Ferris came in. They could mourn Halt together before Lia started looking at Ferris in a different way.

And from there, things would fall into place.

Now if only he could devise a new plan-one that would be quick, effective, and foolproof.

* * *

><p>Halt was ready for today-it was his first real Toscan lesson since the incident with the roofing tiles and he was prepared to let Lia know how he felt. Since it was an unusually chilly day for early spring, Halt decided to look for Lia in the library first. He wasn't a bit surprised to find her sitting at her usual table, books stacked neatly in front of her. "I am sorry, but I could not sit outside in that for any significant amount of time," Lia apologized.<p>

"It's fine-you can't control the weather, after all," Halt pointed out. "If you don't mind, there's a room just off the library with a window-we could have my lesson there."

Lia nodded in agreement and gathered her things, ready to follow Halt. He led the way to a door towards the back of the library. "You know, if you are able to understand the better part of _Inferno_, you will have no trouble if you ever need to interact with a Toscan dialect," Lia remarked as she set her things down on the table in the room.

Halt pulled the door most of the way shut behind them. "A Toscan what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dialect-the variations of the language, as you know," she said offhandedly.

"I _don't_ know," he replied sardonically.

Lia let her head fall into her hands. "God above, how could your previous tutor not tell you of the Toscan dialects?" she lamented. "In Toscana, not everyone speaks Toscan in exactly the same way...in different parts of the country, things are said differently. What you have been learning is a common language that will be understood by all who know Toscan-but there are little branches of the language that are spoken in different parts."

"And I suppose I ought to learn those as well?" Halt asked grimly.

"There are literally _hundreds_ of them. You will be able to understand most of what is said to you-therefore, it is not necessary to teach you a dialect-you need only recognize slight differences," she explained. "Which should not be difficult for you-to you, seeing details is an...instinct."

"One less thing to worry about," he muttered, taking a seat beside Lia.

Their lesson proceeded in a normal and uneventful fashion, with Halt reading _Inferno_ as Lia corrected his pronunciation mistakes and helped him to understand what he was reading. As he read, Lia reveled in the sound of his voice-she had loved _La Divina Commedia_ since she was a child; hearing Halt's quiet, controlled, voice read it breathed a new life into the text, even though his reading had plenty of pronunciation errors and his accent still wasn't quite right-it was still distinctively Hibernian, but that was what brought so much beauty into it.

"Thank you, Halt," she told him at the end of the lesson. "I will see you tomorrow-hopefully in the gardens if the weather is more agreeable."

"Do you mind if we stay a bit longer?" he asked.

She looked at him, curious. "If you are asking for a longer Toscan lesson, either you have some other engagement that you desperately wish to miss...or I have severely misjudged you," she remarked.

"Neither, actually," he said mildly, arising from his chair. "And I wasn't planning on discussing Toscan, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," she replied levelly, wondering what was going on-Halt was standing behind her now. "Although I would like to ask what on..."

She broke off mid-sentence as she felt Halt slide one of the pins out of her hair. She expected herself to recoil, but there was something in his touch that she'd never felt before. Her lips tried to form some sort of question, but she didn't know what to say.

Halt frowned at the back of Lia's head. He'd imagined this differently-in his mind, he'd just undone one pin and all of her hair had come loose. In reality, there were at least twelve pins and a leather cord holding up her hair. He unbound it carefully, watching as it slowly fell past her shoulders.

She hadn't said anything yet, which either meant that she was perfectly fine with what Halt was doing or that she was petrified with fear. _Let's hope for the former_, he thought wryly as he began to run his fingers through her hair.

She'd never felt _anything_ like this-not in all the years of unwanted contact with men. She sighed, closing her eyes and reveling in a sea of bliss as Halt massaged his fingers through her hair and across her scalp-it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever felt. She let her head fall back into his hands, wishing that the sensation of this moment could stretch blissfully across eternity.

From the moment he'd heard her sigh, Halt knew that somehow, out of every romantic gesture that a man could make, he'd chosen the right one. He slowly pulled his hands away before sitting down again-a bit closer to Lia this time.

"Bliss," she whispered, her accent considerably thicker than normal. "How is it that you know to do this?"

"When you're lying in bed unable to walk, the mind has a tendency to wander," Halt explained, a slight edge of sarcasm to his voice. "But honestly, I spent more time thinking about other things."

"Such as...?" Lia wondered, her accent back to normal now.

"This," he replied simply as he leaned towards her.

His lips met hers tenderly, carefully, waiting for her to respond-and she did. She leaned in towards him and ran a hand through his hair, wanting to hold onto this feeling forever.

Slowly, they moved apart. "There are so many things to speak of now," Lia murmured.

"You have no idea," Halt replied. "This isn't exactly the perfect time for this to happen, especially with the Ferris situation, but I'm not about to shove my feelings for you under the rug just because they're inconvenient."

"Thank God," she murmured. "It has been...too long and I have not spoken because I did not know what to say."

Halt's eyebrows arched in shock. "You seem to have a knack for keeping things hidden," he observed.

Lia bit her lip. "It was necessary for a very long time," she explained.

"I understand," Halt said more gently, laying his hand over hers. "But that doesn't mean that you have to keep doing it."

She nodded in understanding. "Thank you," she whispered. "I do not know what we are going to do about...this-I am only a foreign tutor and you will be king-but I am glad that there is something."

Halt looked away from her, shifting in his seat. "Lia, believe me, this is the _last_ time I want to discuss this with you," he told her earnestly. "But if you want to pursue any sort of relationship with me, you deserve to know that Ferris is trying to kill me."

There was a rather long pause between them. "You are _sure_?" she asked.

"Completely. I know that it's not easy to believe-he's my brother, after all-but those roofing tiles didn't just fall on me. Lia, I _saw_ him push them down and he was infuriated when they didn't crush me," Halt clarified.

Lia sat in silence for a few moments, pondering what Halt had told her. It seemed slightly far-fetched, but she knew that Halt would not lie to her, especially not over something so serious. "Does this have anything to do with Ferris's...feelings for me?" she wondered.

Halt laughed a humorless laugh. "Lia, Ferris has wanted the crown of Clonmel since we were out of the womb. You haven't influenced that-he just decided to act on it," he told her.

"That is a relief," she responded, sighing heavily. "If I were responsible for that, I...do not know what I would do."

He shook his head at her. "Ferris can be ridiculous, but he wouldn't go _that_ far. He'd go as far as...well, saying that you live in his heart like a little pebble," he added.

Lia smiled. "I copied that letter," she confessed. "There are some days when I feel sorrow and it makes me smile."

He laughed at her. "That speaks volumes about why you and Ferris aren't compatible."

Lia's face grew more solemn. "Speaking of Ferris, I think that it would be for the best if we kept our relationship...quiet," she stated. "That...and the fact that, as the future king of Clonmel, you are not exactly supposed to be..."

"Involved with you?" he offered. "Lia, I _really_ don't care if I'm not supposed to be doing this-as I said before, I'm not shoving what I feel for you in a closet just because it's atypical. Although you're right about Ferris-it'd be best if he didn't know about this."

She nodded. "It might be best for you to leave-I would like to talk more, but if we are here for too long..."

"I see what you're saying," he stated. "But there's one more thing that I need to take care of."

He picked up Lia's right hand, took off her Claddagh ring, and flipped it around so that the point of the heart was facing her knuckle. "If anyone asks, you're in a committed relationship with your job," he told her.

She looked at him in amusement, her eyebrows going up for a second. "In a way, that is the truth," she remarked.

"Good point," he said. "And...in case you were curious, I tend to go outside early in the morning-perhaps we'll come across one another?"

"It is possible," she replied cryptically.

"Good enough for me," he replied. "Until then."

He leaned over to kiss her lips briefly before leaving Lia alone in the room, her thoughts rushing.

She still could not believe that all of this had happened-Halt cared about her-he'd _kissed_ her! After what she'd been through, she'd never dreamed that any man would want her. She was tainted, even if it had been against her own will. But Halt didn't care about that at all-he'd gone ahead and asserted his feelings for her. _Like a true man_, she thought.

Lia knew that their relationship wouldn't go smoothly, but she was glad that it had begun. Looking down at her Claddagh ring, she smiled-regardless of where it would end up, she felt privileged to know that Halt cared about her so much.

* * *

><p>Halt had literally sprinted down to dinner-his conversation (and other interactions) with Lia had nearly made him late. He hoped that no one else noticed that he was slightly out of breath as he took his seat.<p>

"Looks like you're rather winded," Ferris remarked scathingly.

Apparently, hoping to skim under Ferris's radar had been too much. "My Toscan lesson ran a bit late," Halt replied honestly. _And in running late, it turned into something entirely different._

"Of course it would-since Lia is giving you _lezioni d'amore_!" Ferris exclaimed triumphantly.

"Well, it's better than 'Toscan kissing,' at least," Halt acknowledged. "But Ferris, I'll tell you what I've told you before-Lia isn't giving me love lessons, kissing lessons, or whatever you'd like to call them."

Lying wasn't something that Halt enjoyed, but he did have a certain aptitude for it. Before a wave of guilt could wash over Halt, he remembered that Ferris was trying to kill him. _This certainly wouldn't improve the situation_, he recalled dryly.

"Oh _really_?" Ferris inquired, trying to raise one eyebrow, as Halt often did. He failed rather dismally.

"I'm quite sure, Ferris," Halt responded mildly. "Besides, I'd expect that kissing lessons with one's tutor would be terribly awkward."

Before Ferris could come up with some sort of rejoinder, the king and queen entered. "I spoke with Signorina Bisharra just yesterday," the queen remarked. "She told me that all of you are doing exceptionally well in your lessons."

"Especially Halt," Ferris muttered too quietly for his parents to hear. In a more audible voice, he added, "I heard that Halt's doing something very..._special_ in his Toscan lessons."

"Really? Would you care to tell us about it?" their father wondered, not suspecting any foul play in the situation.

"Of course," Halt replied. "She's having me read a famous Toscan poem-part of something called _The Divine Comedy_."

The king shook his head admiringly. "That woman really dedicates herself to her job-Bernard didn't know as much as she did," he said. "Of course, she went to the _istituzione delle limite_, which is quite an important school in Toscana."

Halt bit back a smile. In his first few months of extra lessons, Lia had taught him to be very careful with the pronunciations of words-one tiny slip and something stupid could be said. _Such as "The Limit School,"_ Halt thought, recognizing his father's slight blunder.

"I meant _the other special thing_," Ferris said pointedly.

"Right!" Halt exclaimed, playing along. "She promised to show me how quickly native Toscan speakers speak Toscan."

Both of his parents made polite remarks of approval while Ferris seethed. Halt was too quick-witted to hesitate and let something slip about his love affair with Lia. Ferris glared at his twin across the table.

_This is not over, Halt-it's very far from being over._

* * *

><p>The sun was just coming up as Lia walked into the gardens. She had no idea where Halt might be-the gardens were rather vast and she hadn't been in Dun Kilty long enough to sufficiently explore them. She strolled aimlessly around for several minutes before she thought she saw someone move. A moment before she called out, she stopped-if the person was not Halt, things could quickly turn in a bad direction.<p>

Someone walked nonchalantly around the corner-Halt. "Hmm, I don't often see you here," he noted.

"That is because I have not exactly had a reason to go out and walk before today," she replied.

She thought she saw a smile flick across Halt's face for just a moment. He stepped towards her to take her hand, but stopped before touching her. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"No...not at all. But thank you for asking," she responded, almost whispering.

He took her hand in his and led her to the most secluded part of the gardens. "We have much to discuss, I think," Lia pointed out, sitting down on a bench.

Halt sighed heavily as he took a seat beside her, releasing her hand. "Well, we might as well do this now," he decided. "It's not just Ferris that can't know-it's everyone. I know I told you yesterday that I don't care what everyone thinks, but...that's too much of a risk."

Lia nodded in understanding. "Because if one person knows, soon all will know," she added.

"Exactly," Halt stated. "Which is why it'd be best for us to only interact...in this way...when we're completely alone."

He knew that it was an awful way to begin their relationship, but it was what was necessary. _She's definitely not going to like it either_, he thought solemnly.

"I am not giving this up because we have to hide it," she replied, her voice strong. "These things...I have been feeling them for a few months now and now that I know..."

Halt shook his head. "Lia, I know it's not easy for you, but if you want to tell me something, please do so," he told her.

"You have no idea," she murmured. "Is...is so difficult, _fare la cosa che era_ forbidden. Is to go against _quegli anni della mia vita_."

She was switching between Toscan and Araluan so quickly that Halt figured that she didn't even know that the switch was happening. "Just...talk," he said quietly, placing his hand over hers. "_Dimmi esattamente ciò che è nella tua testa_."

Lia blinked. She wasn't sure what had shocked her more-the fact that Halt had spoken Toscan voluntarily or the fact that his syntax and pronunciation had been excellent. "It will not be easy for a long time," she said finally. "But I will always try."

Her accent still ran heavily through her voice, but she seemed a bit less frazzled than she'd been a moment ago. "That's all I'm asking for," he said.

She nodded. "We have spoken of me too often, though. I am beginning to be curious...for how long have _you_ felt this way?" Lia inquired.

"Not long," Halt admitted. "A couple of weeks, I think."

"You are certainly a man of action, then," she mused. "One who acts well."

Halt raised an eyebrow at her. "Says the woman who doesn't give out praise," he remarked curiously.

"That is for when you are in my class," she explained.

"So if I asked you how I was doing in my lessons, what would you say?"

"I would tell you that you are progressing well and that I hope to read the rest of _La Divina Commedia_ with you before I deem you fit to...stop having Toscan lessons," she stated. "Or before you become king and refuse to learn any more Toscan."

Halt rolled his eyes. "Not exactly the praise I was seeking," he stated.

She raised an eyebrow at him; Halt sensed that she was playfully mocking the gesture that he made so frequently. "Perhaps you will find it one day," she responded cryptically.

"It's not exactly what I'm after, you know," he pointed out.

Lia understood his meaning. "You do not have to chase that which is yours, Halt O'Carrick," she responded.

"The chase never ends," he remarked softly, leaning towards her to kiss her on the lips.

Lia leaned into him, placing a hand on his shoulder, which slowly slid up his neck and through his hair. She withdrew reluctantly as the kiss ended, running her hand back down his arm and letting it rest on his leg. "We come here to talk and suddenly, all words leave my mind," she sighed.

"Your mind without words?" Halt asked rhetorically.

"It is said that Hibernian men can do strange things," Lia stated, a hint of playfulness in her tone.

"And who is the _great scholar_ who says such things?" Halt inquired, an edge of sarcasm to his voice.

Lia paused momentarily. "I am that scholar; thank you kindly for the lovely flattery," she said.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "From what I understand, it's my job to flatter you," he pointed out.

"Along with other things...which you do perfectly," she responded quietly.

"Again, this is coming from the mouth of a woman who claims not to give compliments."

"Then it must truly be an accomplishment."

She'd leaned slightly closer to Halt during their conversation; he figured that it wasn't intentional. He wanted to kiss her again, but...

"Lia, if any of this is...too much, just say something," Halt told her. His voice sounded so strained; it was obvious that he wanted to be done talking with her and just...sit with her, be near to her.

She nodded in understanding. "I am sure that you will know before I speak," she whispered.

In response, he leaned closer to her, pressing his lips lightly against hers as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her slightly closer. In that moment, Halt didn't care about Ferris or what anyone else would think of their prince's relationship with his tutor. One name echoed in his mind.

_Lia._

* * *

><p><em>La Divina Commedia<em> - The Divine Comedy

_Inferno_ - Hell (and in case anyone's wondering, the other two books are _Purgatorio_ [Purgatory] and _Paradiso_ [Heaven])

_Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita/mi ritrovai per una selva oscura..._ - Midway in the journey of our life/I came to myself in a dark wood (I can't take credit for this translation; it was done by Robert and/or Jean Hollander)

_lezioni d'amore_ - love lessons (lit. "lessons of love")

_istituzione delle limite_ - Limit School (lit. "school of limits")

_fare la cosa che era_ - to do the thing that was

_quegli anni della mia vita_ -those years of my life

_Dimmi esattamente ciò che è nella tua testa_ - Tell me exactly what's on your mind (lit. "Tell me exactly that which is in your head")


	7. Variations

**A/N: I need a distraction. You know how whenever you complain about your family and/or your hometown, people say, "Oh, you're going to miss them someday" and you never believe them? Yeah, I never thought I'd miss home or my dad and sister (especially my sister) so much. *sigh* But I'm trying to stop thinking about it by thinking of _Ranger's Apprentice_ instead (which is actually working). So yeah, please read and review. :) Your reviews brighten my life. :D**

**Also, thank you so much to everyone who read _Green Oakleaf_ and _Ranger Corps: Men In Cloaks_-knowing that one's writing is enjoyed is the highest joy in the world. And I would like to give a HUGE shout-out to the members of Ranger Corps: Men in Cloaks! :D :D You are exceptionally phenomenal!**

**Anywho, chapter seven-ah, turning points. ;) I think there might just be one more long-ish chapter after this one, then a couple of epilogues.**

**As usual,_ Ranger's Apprentice_ is not mine, no matter how badly I want Halt-erm, I mean IT! It's not mine, no matter how badly I want IT! *clears throat awkwardly***

* * *

><p>Caitlyn strode purposefully into Halt's chambers. "I <em>never<em> see you anymore!" she exclaimed, slightly upset.

"There are so many things to keep me busy, Cait," Halt informed her, looking up from what he was doing.

In reality, he'd been taking extra time out of his mornings and evenings to be with Lia, which had significantly curtailed his days. It was difficult for him not to tell Caitlyn, but he and Lia had decided that it was best to keep their relationship entirely hidden. Halt knew that Caitlyn wouldn't care, so long as he was happy, but if she knew, the information was there for Ferris to manipulate.

"And when I get to see you, you look like tired, like you haven't slept in days," she added sadly.

"Probably because I haven't," he replied rather dryly, turning in his seat to look at her. "Getting a good night's rest isn't easy now that I know what Ferris is plotting."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "Have you figured out what you're going to do about it?"

Halt sighed deeply. "Cait, I think I'm going to abdicate," he confessed.

He'd been thinking about it ever since Ferris's second attempt-he didn't want to live the rest of his life in fear. Besides, Halt hadn't ever been enthusiastic about being king-he might as well just give Ferris what he wanted and keep his life in the process.

"Are you sure?" Caitlyn asked. "That's...well, it's a huge decision, Halt."

He nodded. "I know. I'm going to talk with him soon-hopefully later this week if I can manage it."

"I wish you the best, then," Caitlyn told him. And she meant it with all of her being.

"Thanks, Cait," he told her. "I have a feeling I'll be needing it."

* * *

><p>Ferris was leaving his Toscan lesson when Halt approached him. "Ferris, there's something I'd like to discuss with you," Halt announced. "Could we go somewhere and talk?"<p>

"Almost eighteen years of living in the same castle and suddenly you want to talk?" Ferris remarked. "Interesting-but what I'm wondering is...why not here?"

"I believe I said that I wanted to talk with _you_," Halt pointed out. "Therefore, no one else needs to know the topic of our conversation."

Unable to come up with an appropriately snappy rejoinder, Ferris replied, "Very well. Where are we going?"

"I was thinking one of the rooms off the library. No one goes there." _Except Lia and me, when we want to be alone._

"Fine. Let's go," Ferris agreed, following his brother to the designated place.

After the door was closed behind them, Halt said, "Ferris, I know you've always wanted to be king of Clonmel...and I know you've been, shall we say, 'altering the circumstances' so that you might have a chance of it. I just wanted to say that...I'm abdicating."

Ferris flinched in shock, turning to look at his brother. "You're _what_?"

"Abdicating. It's a verb, meaning to give something up - in this context, it means that I'm giving up my claim to the throne," Halt explained, clearly irritated.

"I know the definition!" Ferris snapped. "What I don't know is...why."

"Well, quite frankly, Ferris, I know that you're trying to kill me and I don't want to put up with it anymore," Halt stated.

Ferris's jaw dropped in surprise. "You think that I'm..."

Halt rolled his eyes. "No, Ferris, I _know_," he confessed, his voice growing quieter. "I saw you push them-I'm not the fool that you often take me for."

"The throne's not all I want," Ferris muttered.

Halt's voice was dangerous as he replied, "I'm offering you _everything_ that you've ever wanted and you have the nerve to demand something else?"

He knew what Ferris was going to say before the word left his mouth.

"Lia."

Knowing what was going to happen beforehand didn't lessen Halt's anger. "She is a _woman_, not some plaything to be tossed around. I have no more control over her than you do-if she doesn't want you, it's that simple," he hissed.

"And I suppose the only way _you_ know this is because you've been her lover for months now!" Ferris exclaimed.

"This really isn't the point, Ferris," Halt remarked, trying to change the subject. "I just wanted to talk to you about...abdication."

"I'll have to think about it," Ferris retorted.

"_You_ have to think about it?" Halt said incredulously. "I'm not sure if you fully understand - _I'm_ the one who's giving up the crown of Clonmel!"

"But how am I supposed to know you'll actually go through with it?" Ferris replied defensively.

Halt paused. "You won't know until it happens," he stated. "That should be enough for you."

Ferris paused, deep in thought. "We'll talk more later - I want to..._think_," he replied before leaving the room.

Halt clenched his fist around part of a chair. He'd been perfectly civil with Ferris and he'd _still_ turned the situation on its head. Now he was condemned to an indefinite period of anxiety while his brother plotted some new way to murder him.

* * *

><p>Lia sat at her desk, tapping her foot and sipping a cup of coffee as she waited for Halt. He said he'd be by to speak with her some time this evening-apparently, he'd been to talk with Ferris earlier about his abdication. She was slightly worried about what might've happened, but she was fairly certain that Halt was all right.<p>

Lessons with him had been..._interesting_, to say the least. She continued to treat him just as she had before they'd revealed their feelings to one another, but it was difficult-at times, she wanted to simply skip their lessons for the day and run off with Halt. Fortunately, he'd been just as professional about the situation as she'd been-anyone who watched them interact during one of Halt's Toscan lessons would never guess that there was anything more than a simple student-teacher relationship between the two of them. Of course, they both knew that Ferris's opinion of their relationship still stood, although fortunately, it didn't seem as if his suspicion had grown now that Halt and Lia were actually together.

"I can't _believe_ this!"

Halt's voice, saturated with anger, shot through Lia's door before the rest of him. Lia, sensing that he just wanted to release his emotion, sat quietly.

"_I'm_ the one giving up the throne-and Ferris says he has to think about it!" he snapped.

A flash of unbridled fear ran through Lia - she was reminded of other times when she'd seen men this infuriated-unpleasant memories. _It is only Halt and he is not normally this way_, she reminded herself. "Your brother...it is not easy for him to trust people because he knows that he himself is not trustworthy," she said, hoping to somehow soothe Halt's anger. "With time, hopefully, he will understand and you will no longer have need to fear for your life."

Halt looked over at her; he could easily tell that she was pulling herself inward, retracting from everything. "You give me this excellent...insight, I suppose, and now you're cowered over there like a scared rabbit," he said, his tone slightly caustic.

Slowly, she relaxed, sinking back into her chair. "I am sorry - it is-"

"It's not your fault, Lia," Halt interrupted her. "You're easier to talk to than anyone else, so..."

She stood beside him, cautiously taking his hand. "For that, I am glad," she murmured, stepping closer to him.

This was the first time that Lia had actually initiated physical contact between them; they'd been a couple for a few months, but Halt had always been the one to make the first move. Moving as if she was unsure of exactly what to do, she leaned towards Halt and kissed him.

His initial surprise melted into pleasure as she ran her hand up his arm and into his hair. He placed his arms around her waist, pulling her slightly closer to him. They moved gradually apart, though Lia's hand still rested lightly on Halt's.

Unsure of what to say, Halt glanced around the chamber, searching for inspiration. He wanted to tell Lia that she was...well, he didn't quite have the proper words for the feeling- "proper words" being words that didn't make Halt sound like a lovesick poet.

"What's in there?" he inquired, gesturing to the mug of coffee that sat on her desk.

Lia laughed-not a giggle, but her full-blown, resonant laugh. "Out of _everything_ you could say now, you choose to address _that_?" she replied, grinning.

"It's a perfectly legitimate question," he pointed out, raising his eyebrow at her.

She shook her head, still smiling. "That is exactly one of the reasons why you are so excellent in love...you do not try to make everything sound as if it came from the sighing lips of a poet," she clarified.

Halt bit back a smile-he was glad that Lia appreciated his straightforwardness; he didn't want to turn their relationship into some sort of intricate dance. "You still haven't told me what's in the cup," he pointed out.

"See for yourself," she responded, offering it to him.

He took it cautiously from the desk so that he would not spill any of its contents, bringing it to his mouth. As Halt drank, Lia watched his eyebrows slowly drift up in approval. "Mmm," he muttered in approval, moving the cup away from his mouth.

"It is _caffè_ - coffee," Lia explained. "I tend to add honey because the taste is a little bitter without it."

Halt nodded. "I've heard of it...don't think I've actually had some until now," he told her.

Her eyes widened in shock. "You are deprived-very deprived," Lia decided, shaking her head like a disappointed mother.

"Right-I feel impossibly deprived, being the prince of Clonmel," he replied sarcastically.

Lia rolled her eyes at him. "It is more popular in Toscana than here, I think, but there is nothing in this world that can compare to the coffee of the Arridi."

"How much different can it be?" Halt inquired.

"Oh, you would be surprised-I was as well when I first tried it," she clarified. "It is like...the difference between me teaching someone Toscan and...oh, Ferris teaching someone Toscan. Ferris is not bad, but I have known the language for longer-I have lived in it, so I understand things..."

"And he doesn't," Halt finished.

Lia laughed. "That is not exactly what I would have said, but...it is sometimes true. As now, with the throne," she observed, glancing at Halt. "About which you would rather not think."

He didn't have time to say anything; she was already kissing him passionately, holding him closer. He kissed her back, running a hand through her hair. They moved apart unhurriedly, Lia's fingers still lightly brushing against Halt's. "So young, and with so much to think about," she murmured.

"You're only three years older than me," he reminded Lia.

"Mmm, but if I were in a situation like yours...I would not handle it as admirably as you are," she revealed.

Halt raised an eyebrow. "These words coming from a woman who doesn't dole out praise."

"In these circumstances, I believe that you are more than deserving."

* * *

><p>"Lia, are you all right?" Caitlyn asked her tutor.<p>

After yet another massive sneeze, Lia nodded. "It is the dust, I think," she stated, trying to reassure herself more than Caitlyn.

She couldn't be getting sick. Of course, Lia figured that she'd been lucky to survive two winters in Hibernia without so much as a cough; apparently, fate was taking its revenge on her now that spring had officially arrived in Clonmel.

"That is all I have for you today. Thank you, Caitlyn," Lia said, dismissing her youngest pupil.

"You're sure that you're all right?" Caitlyn inquired, worried.

"I have lived through worse things that a sneeze," Lia replied, smiling. "Do not worry."

Caitlyn left, still slightly concerned about her tutor. She felt as if there was something _different_ about Lia-she seemed more confident as a teacher. Perhaps it was because she'd finally settled into her role here in Clonmel, which would make sense, since the change had been gradual. Maybe Lia finally felt at home in Hibernia...

_And I still feel like I'm missing something_, Caitlyn pondered.

* * *

><p>Halt put his hand on the doorknob of his chambers-and felt something odd. Looking down, he saw that there was a very long vine wrapped around his doorknob, so long that it trailed on the floor a bit. <em>Lia<em>, Halt thought. She did this on occasion, usually around some sort of significant event.

He bit his lip, trying to recall anything that happened that might be important. Ferris still hadn't said anything about Halt's abdication after two weeks. No one knew what was going on between Halt and Lia; they'd hidden their relationship admirably over the past...how long was it now?

_A year_, Halt realized. It wasn't very long in the scheme of a lifetime, but Halt had seen Ferris fancy and "court" _dozens_ of girls in a year.

It didn't seem like he'd been with Lia for so long - their relationship had moved rather slowly at first, but eventually, she'd warmed up to him and things had fallen into place. The whole thing felt...natural. Halt didn't feel obligated to care for Lia or to spend time with her - he wanted to.

_And I suppose that's how we lasted this long_, he realized. He wanted to talk to her and tell her that...

_I'll figure it out_, Halt decided as he opened his door, removed the vines from his doorknob, and draped them over his nightstand.

Then, he left his chambers, searching for Lia. Today was her day off, which meant that she was probably in the library, reading or correcting things. To his surprise, Halt didn't find her there...which meant that she was probably in her room.

Going to see Lia in her room always made Halt feel a little bit invasive-her space was quite small and since Halt knew about her previous experiences with men, he always wondered if his presence mad her uncomfortable. "Lia?" he called, after knocking on her door.

He heard slow footsteps coming towards him before the door opened, revealing Lia, who looked moderately disheveled. Her dress was wrinkled and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. "I take it you received the vines?" she asked him, smiling.

Halt could tell that she wasn't feeling well, despite her attempts to appear normal. "You don't look well," he remarked.

"I apologize—I know that today is important, but—"

"That's not what I meant," Halt cut her off. "You're…exceptionally…" he trailed off, not wanting to tell her directly that she was beautiful—she might be offended, since she'd probably received plenty of shallow compliments about her appearance. "Anyways," he continued, "I meant that you look like you're ill."

Lia couldn't help but smile at him. She knew that he always made a point not to comment on her appearance, which sometimes caused him to make some rather…interesting corrections. "I will be all right, but I think it is best if you go now—I do not want to spread my illness and if I rest today, I should be able to teach for the rest of the week," she explained.

"If everyone was as dedicated as you are, we'd have a world full of heroes," Halt remarked.

She laughed lightly. "You have made time go so quickly," she murmured, touching his arm for a second. "Thank you, Halt."

It was exceptional—she could make his pulse race without kissing him. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," he replied quietly. "Get well."

"I will do my best," she responded. "Hopefully we will be able to spend more time together tomorrow."

Halt nodded almost imperceptibly before walking away. As soon as he was gone, Lia closed the door and practically fell onto her bed. She was so impossibly exhausted-for some reason, she'd simply been unable to sleep last night. The fact that her throat was dry and sore wasn't exactly helping matters...and, of course, she'd been sneezing since yesterday. Worse, she felt terrible for not being able to spend time with Halt-they had been together for a year and she could barely touch him for fear of spreading whatever she had.

_Maybe it will pass_, she hoped, curling up on her bed and closing her eyes.

* * *

><p>Of course, it didn't pass. When Lia arose the next morning, she'd developed a cough and a stuffy nose on top of her previous ailments. These things, combined with two nights of very little sleep, made Lia feel half dead. She knew that she couldn't teach today-although she felt awful for abandoning her duty, she was too ill to do it properly.<p>

She spent the better part of her morning trying to make herself look moderately presentable-there would be no lessons, but Lia would still have to tell Ferris, Caitlyn, and Halt and she preferred to do so without looking like something that had been resurrected from the dead. Since Ferris was her first lesson, she'd be looking for him first-which probably wouldn't be difficult, since she usually saw him in the corridors several times a day.

As she expected, Lia only had to venture a few paces down a corridor before she saw Ferris. She still was not comfortable around him-he hadn't given up his pursuit of her, although she still hadn't shown any signs of interest. "Ferris, may I speak with you for a moment?" she called to him, straining her voice to its limit.

She saw glee flash across his face for a moment as he approached her. "Yes, Lia?" he asked, stepping a bit too close to her.

"I am not feeling well," she began, "so you will not have a lesson today. If you have time, look over what you learned earlier this week."

"Really?" he asked, feigning confusion. "Because you look quite lovely."

"There's no need to flatter, Ferris. I will see you next week," she told him as crisply as she could with her raspy voice before walking off to find Caitlyn.

* * *

><p><em>Knock...knock...<em>

Halt looked up from his Toscan-which he'd wisely left until the last possible second-before arising to answer the door. Lia stood on the other side, looking ten times as exhausted as she had the previous day. She was literally leaning on Halt's door frame to keep herself standing up. "What on _earth_ are you doing up?" Halt asked. "You look half-dead."

"Ferris had the gall to tell me I looked lovely," she replied, trying to laugh. She only succeeded in coughing. "And I needed to tell you that you won't be having a lesson today because I am not feeling well."

Halt shook his head. "If only you were well enough to appreciate the irony," he muttered. "Come on-I'm taking you back to your chambers."

She began to protest, but Halt stopped her. "You won't make it back there alone," he pointed out. "And if people suspect that we're together from this...they need something else to occupy their time."

Lia smiled, leaning slightly on Halt as he stood beside her. "_Grazie_," she murmured.

"You're welcome," he replied as he closed the door behind him.

They made their way slowly through the castle to Lia's chambers. Halt ushered her carefully inside, leading her to the bed. "There," he said as she laid down; he sat beside her. "Don't worry about lessons - just rest."

"I feel awful," she croaked.

"Maybe next time, you should just tell_ one of us_ that lessons are cancelled," he suggested. "We're capable of some things, you know."

Lia sneezed, but Halt suspected that the sneeze had originated as a laugh. "Is there anything that you need?" he asked her, touching her arm gently.

"Do not get ill," Lia ordered him seriously.

"I'll do what I can," he promised her. "But is there anything more...concrete?"

"Mmm...coffee," she murmured dreamily.

Halt rolled his eyes. "You look like you haven't slept in a few days - I'm bringing you tea," he replied.

"Halt?"

The voice came from the door, which Halt hadn't closed properly. _Caitlyn_, he realized. "Yes," he replied, standing up and taking a step away from Lia.

Caitlyn entered the room, eyes fixed curiously on Halt. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Lia didn't look well when she came to tell me that lessons were cancelled, so I offered to help her back to her room," Halt explained.

"Hmm," Caitlyn mused. There wasn't anything to suggest that Halt had lied to her, but she sensed that there was something that she was missing.

"Thank you, Halt," Lia murmured. "I appreciate your kindness."

"Of course," Halt said curtly before turning his attention back to Caitlyn.

"Let's talk," she suggested, taking Halt's sleeve and practically dragging him into the corridor, shutting Lia's door behind them.

"What on _earth_ were you doing in Lia's room?" Caitlyn hissed. "And don't tell me that you were bringing her back-I heard you talking to her."

Halt bit the inside of his lip. He'd promised himself-and Lia-that if Caitlyn ever asked a question that involved Halt and Lia's relationship, he'd answer it directly. "Lia and I are...together, if you follow my meaning," he explained.

"Halt, she's our _tutor_!" Caitlyn whispered emphatically.

"She's only three years older than me," Halt pointed out. "Besides, lessons are the same as always - if you watched us, you'd never know that there was anything more."

"How long?" Caitlyn wondered, her tone less accusatory.

"A year," Halt confessed.

Caitlyn's eyes widened as she looked at her brother. "I _never_ would've known if you hadn't told me!" she exclaimed.

"That was the point - to keep it as quiet as possible," he explained.

Caitlyn nodded in understanding. "I'm not trying to be rude, but with Ferris and everything...why try?"

Halt was silent for a moment. "Because that's what you do when you love someone," he said quietly.

Immediately, Caitlyn's expression softened. "Halt...you _love_ her?" she crooned, her eyes alight with joy.

He bit his lip-until recently, he hadn't used "love" to describe how he felt about Lia. Of course he cared about her and was attracted to her, but "love" had seemed like too strong of a word. Now that he thought about it, he felt that indescribable link to her-that word that he'd read about so many times in tedious history books. "I suppose I do," he confessed.

"Awwwwwww...!"

Halt rolled his eyes at his sister. "Shut up, Cait," he told her, but there was a gentleness to his voice. "Speaking of Lia, I need to get her some tea."

"Aw, you're taking care of her," Caitlyn replied, her tone gently teasing.

"That would be my job as the man in the relationship," he remarked, raising an eyebrow at his sister.

"Then I won't keep you from it any longer," Caitlyn said.

Halt proceeded in the direction of the kitchens. As soon as he was a ways down the corridor, Caitlyn re-entered Lia's room. "Lia, are you awake?" she asked.

"Mmmhmm," Lia murmured from the bed.

"Do you mind if I stay and talk for a while?" Caitlyn wondered.

"Not at all," Lia replied. "Do not sit too near-I do not want you to get sick."

Caitlyn sat down in Lia's desk chair, turning the chair so it faced the bed. "So," she began, "what made you fancy Halt?"

There was a long moment of silence as Lia processed what Caitlyn had just said-her mind was almost as sluggish as her body. "It was the small things at first-how he moves his, ah...eyebrows, how he speaks - _il suo spirito_. Then it became everything about him and it was that for a few months before he told me," she explained. "Although...he did not exactly tell me with words."

"And how did he tell you?" Caitlyn wondered. She wasn't used to picturing Halt as a romantic person-he was usually so straightforward that he came across as brusque.

"_Dita per i miei capelli_," she whispered. "_Ed allora...un bacio_."

"Fingers for your hair?" Caitlyn inquired, wondering if she'd translated correctly.

"No - per also is 'through,'" Lia explained.

Caitlyn ran the phrases through her head again. "So, he ran his fingers through your hair and then kissed you?" she asked, hoping she'd translated correctly this time.

"Mm, _sì. Magico,_" Lia answered.

"Awwww," Caitlyn murmured. "I never knew Halt was so romantic."

Lia made an odd sound that vaguely sounded like croaking. Caitlyn assumed that this was supposed to be laughter. "I do not think that I would call him that," Lia responded. "If he were romantic...I do not think that we would be together."

"_What_?" Caitlyn said incredulously. "Why on earth not?"

"Because romance is only a show, one that I have watched too many times. I do not want that-I want someone who cares for me in his heart," Lia clarified.

"Wait," Caitlyn began, "does Halt know that you've...seen romance before?"

Lia eased herself into a sitting position, facing Caitlyn. "He knows exactly what I have seen," Lia told Caitlyn, her tone solemn. "In Toscana, when I was a little younger than you are, I was captured and made to be a prostitute. That is why I do not like romance-men think that it is an easy way to a woman's heart, but after being treated so poorly, I did not want to go in circles in any relationship."

"I...wouldn't have thought that you were ever..." Caitlyn replied, searching for the word she was looking for.

"A whore?" Lia supplied. "That part of my life is far in the past. I did not want it, Caitlyn-that is why you do not see marks of it."

Caitlyn lowered her head. "Sorry, Lia-I've just thought-"

"What you think _does_ happen sometimes," Lia clarified. "It is less common than what people believe."

"Well, I'm glad you're done with that. And I'm glad you're happy with Halt," Caitlyn declared.

"_Grazie_," Lia murmured, lying back down.

The young princess looked over at her tutor. She looked so exhausted, which wasn't much of a surprise now that Caitlyn knew Lia's past. She sat quietly until Halt returned a few minutes later with a cup of hot tea, which he set on Lia's nightstand. "It's there for you whenever you're ready," Halt told her.

"Thank you," she murmured. "I could not ask for more."

Sensing that she was in the middle of a rather private moment, Caitlyn got up and left the room.

"I'm going to leave now," Halt said quietly, crouching down so that he was at eye level with Lia. "Just rest and you'll be all right."

Lia mumbled something in reply before rolling over onto her side.

Before he left, Halt said one more thing-words spoken so quietly that he wasn't even sure if Lia heard them.

"Love you, Lia."

Caitlyn, who'd been waiting outside the door for her brother, did hear what he said. Before she could comment, Halt said, "Honestly, I'd think you had no idea what a relationship was if I didn't know you."

Caitlyn could tell that he was teasing her. "I've known for a while-I just didn't ever think that _you'd_ figure it out," she replied jokingly.

"I _do_ have a soul, you know," he reminded her."

"I know," she answered smugly. "We just forget it's there sometimes."

* * *

><p><em>caffè<em> - coffee

_il suo spirito_ - his wit

_Dita per i miei capelli_ - fingers through my hair

_ed allora...un bacio_ - and then...a kiss (in case someone's been wondering, e=and in Italian, but if it's before a vowel, they make it "ed" so the vowels don't run together. And I know it's said "um bacio," but since it's written, I'm leaving it thusly [since in Italy/Toscana, they'd write it like "un bacio" but say it like "um bacio"])

_magico_ - magic


	8. Fall

**A/N: And we near the end. Just a warning: you might want to grab some Kleenex right about now. Be prepared. After this, there will be two little epilogues, plus I'll write another fic that'll probably just be a oneshot (or maybe a twoshot) to follow this up. I'm so sad to be almost done with this-it's the longest thing I've written for quite a while.**

**Oh, and btw, the pronunciations for the first 7 chapters of this fic are up on [insert name of popular video sharing site here]. Just search "cadere chapters 1-7 pronunciations" and you should get the right video (the username is xbree92x).**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for being such wonderfully awesome readers! Enjoy this chapter! :)**

**I don't own _Ranger's Apprentice_. Nor will I ever, unless I get to screenwrite the movie (which is one of my closet dreams, by the way), and even then, I'll just be a partial owner of the script...**

* * *

><p>After being bedridden for a few days, Lia was glad that she was feeling better. She'd barely moved in the past few days, which was beginning to make her anxious-Ferris had a lesson tomorrow and she hadn't bothered to make any sort of plan. Of course, Halt, who'd dropped in sporadically, had made sure that she didn't get up. She appreciated his efforts, but she'd been on edge for a while and had snapped yesterday when he came to see her.<p>

_"Lia, you're not going to get any better if you keep worrying about our lessons. Honestly, it's not the end of the world if we miss a few days."_

_"You cannot tell my mind to simply stop-it is my job to do this, in case you have forgotten so quickly!"_

_"Hmm, it's your job to worry yourself closer to death? Funny, I don't remember my last Toscan tutor engaging in that particular activity."_

_"Just shut up! I am older than you and have lived through worse-I will not be treated as a child!"_

_"Good to know you've lived through worse than murder attempts."_

Then he had left. Once the anger had stopped boiling in Lia's chest, she had stared at the ceiling, crying herself to the point of exhaustion. Halt had avoided the topic of Ferris recently-she'd almost forgotten with what Halt was dealing. That was certainly not an excuse for being so unkind to him, especially when there was so much on his mind. She'd thought about getting up and looking for him, but figured that getting up while she still wasn't feeling quite well wouldn't exactly endear her to him.

She laid in bed, trying to keep her mind off of Halt, hoping that he'd come back.

"You're looking better."

Lia flinched-she hadn't heard Halt approach. "Thank God you came back-I said so many things yesterday and I did not think before saying them. Halt, I am sorry thousands of times-I...I cannot make excuses except my own ignorance," she said quickly.

"It's all right, Lia," Halt murmured. "I know it's been a rough couple of days for you. And...I wasn't much better to you, so I hope you'll forgive me for that."

"Of course," she replied taking his hand. "I understand your purpose."

"Good," Halt began. "I'm doing this because I-"

He was going to say "because I love you," but the words stuck in his throat. He coughed, hoping that he'd be able to speak normally now, before saying, "Because I...love you."

Lia wasn't quite sure how to react-she'd heard the same words, but previously, they had been spoken by men who were lost in a moment of their own pleasure. She knew that Halt had spoken truly, but she was not sure how he felt. "Never in my life has anyone spoken words that mean so much to me," she murmured. "Halt, to know how you feel-it is wonderful, but I do not know if I feel the same, only because I am not sure what love is."

He nodded in understanding. "I'd rather have you be honest than lie about loving me," he responded, sitting on the bed beside her. "But there is one question that I have-are you feeling better?"

"Much better, yes," she replied.

He leaned over her, kissing her softly. "If it's any consolation, I don't think you'll be missing Ferris's lesson tomorrow," Halt informed her once his lips had left hers.

"Was that permission to make plans?" Lia wondered.

"If you want to," Halt told her.

"Thank you," she replied, sitting up to kiss him.

"Any time," he said. "I have to go, though-things to take care of."

Lia nodded. "I wish you well," she murmured, touching his fingers briefly.

"Thanks, Lia," he told her before he left.

* * *

><p>After several months of procrastination, Ferris had <em>finally<em> agreed to speak to Halt. It was such a relief - Halt was tired of having to look over his shoulder, wondering at every corner if Ferris was orchestrating some new scheme to get Halt killed. "You've decided, I'm assuming?" Halt inquired, walking into Ferris's chambers. "Because Father's health is failing and if I'm ever going to abdicate, I need to do it soon."

"Almost," the younger twin admitted. "I was thinking that we could discuss things better if we were outside of the castle-just the two of us. No foul play, no outside influences."

"You're pushing it _further_?" Halt growled.

"Just two weeks-to the day," Ferris replied quickly. "We can go salmon fishing and talk without having to worry about being overheard."

Halt paused for a moment. He figured that if Ferris was ever going to decide-Halt still didn't quite understand why it had taken his brother so long; Ferris had always wanted the crown-this would be his only option. But still, he was a little wary about being alone with his brother. "No foul play?" Halt reminded him.

"Of _course_ not!" Ferris replied, as if the notion were the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"You give your word as a prince of Clonmel that there will not be any foul play?" Halt asked firmly, making the question sound more like a demand.

"None whatsoever," Ferris promised.

Halt nodded. "All right, then," he agreed.

Ferris could barely contain his excitement until Halt left the room. He'd finally done it. There was no possibility of Halt's escape now-they'd be alone on a boat. He couldn't run anywhere - and once Ferris did what was necessary, Halt wouldn't be able to swim either.

* * *

><p>"Caitlyn?"<p>

The princess flinched slightly in surprise-she wasn't completely accustomed to seeing Lia outside of her lessons. "Yes?" Caitlyn replied.

"I am faced with...a question," her tutor remarked. "I am not quite sure what love is and was wondering...do you know?"

Caitlyn grinned. "You love him, don't you?" she wondered mischievously.

"That is what I am trying to learn," Lia confessed. "I care for him more than anyone, and...I would do anything for him. It is...difficult to put in words, but I feel as if someone has tied my heart to his."

"I don't know much about love, but if you feel so connected to him, then I think it's love," Caitlyn decided.

"Thank you," Lia replied, her tone not hinting at any sort of emotion. "I will see you at your next lesson.

Caitlyn walked off, still curious about what would happen with Halt and Lia.

* * *

><p>It was late, but, as the saying went, late was better than never. Halt had decided that it was time for he and Lia to celebrate their relationship. He'd asked her to meet him out in the gardens once it was dark. As the last rays of the sun reached across the walls of Dun Kilty, Halt left the castle and went out to the gardens to wait for Lia.<p>

She arrived quite soon after he did, looking just as lovely as always. "I missed this," Lia confessed, looking admiringly around the gardens.

"Actually, I was planning on going outside of Dun Kilty," Halt replied.

"That sounds quite nice," Lia agreed.

They fell into step side by side. After walking in silence for a few moments, Lia asked Halt, "How are you?"

He knew that the inquiry went deeper than one might expect. Lia understood what was happening with his father and Ferris; she could probably even tell that it all was beginning to wear on Halt. "Stressed, tired...but I'm leaving that all in Dun Kilty for now," he confessed.

"Yours is not an easy life," she replied, taking his hand. "Thank you for doing this-I know that you are exhausted and have other things to do."

"Honestly, I'd prefer this," he confessed as they slipped out of the gardens through a moderately concealed side door. Its original purpose had been to help the royal family escape if the castle was under siege.

_It's serving its purpose_, Halt thought wryly as he led Lia out the door.

Together, they walked until they came to a deserted stretch of grass. "I haven't been here for a while, but it's a nice place to look at the stars," Halt said. "Figured you might enjoy it out here."

"It is _gorgeous_," Lia responded, craning her head to look up at the stars.

"Lie down - you'll hurt your neck if you keep looking up like that," he suggested.

Lia eased herself onto the grass and laid down, looking up at Halt. "I hope that you will be joining me," she commented.

"Of course," he said, lying down beside her with the top of his head near her shoulder. He exhaled deeply, letting all of his worries leave for the moment.

"Halt?" Lia called softly.

He turned his head in her direction to let her know he was listening and was struck by how near they were-his cheek was against hers. "I'm listening," he murmured.

"I love you."

There was a pregnant pause between them. Halt wasn't sure of what to say - she already knew how he felt, so telling her seemed rather pointless. Eventually, he revealed, "I hoped tonight would be...pleasant, but I didn't know you planned on making it so memorable."

"I thought that it would be the best time to tell you, since we are away from everything," she whispered, turning her head to kiss his cheek.

"Lia...do you mind if I move?" he asked.

"No, I do not," she replied.

"Good. Because I don't think I can kiss you properly from over here," he said, getting up and moving so that they were lying side by side.

He heard Lia's sharp intake of breath and wondered once again, "You're _sure_ you're all right with this?"

She rolled onto her side so that she was facing him. "I am - although lying next to you like this is so new to me," she confessed.

"Me too," he admitted, leaning over to kiss her.

Their lips pressed together for several moments. In that grassy field, they weren't supposed to hide anything-their love was as natural as everything that surrounded them.

Halt slowly moved his lips away from Lia's, his hand now lying protectively over hers. "I just realized something," she remarked. "We have barely looked at the stars."

"Would you rather do that?" Halt inquired.

"Not at this moment."

She leaned over to kiss him with more ardor than before, running her fingers through his hair. As she slowly laid back down beside Halt, Lia murmured, "_Ricordati di stanotte, perchè quest'oggi è l'inizio dell'eternità_."

"I couldn't forget it, Lia-especially now that you've told me you love me and quoted a dead Toscan poet," Halt said, though the usual edge of sarcasm in his voice was rather weak.

"I cannot either," she replied, sliding her hand under his as they looked up at the stars together.

* * *

><p>Lia stretched her legs, but instead of feeling her bedclothes slide off of her, she felt...a cloak. One that was not her own. She opened her eyes to see that she was still out in the field with Halt beside her. One of his arms was draped loosely over her ribcage; his body was curled tightly against hers.<p>

She sat up quickly, wondering how much time they had until dawn. "Halt," she murmured, gently shaking his shoulder.

He groaned, then stretched his limbs before opening his eyes. "Blast," he muttered. "We need to go now, Lia."

They gathered their cloaks and set off towards Dun Kilty. "I don't think I've slept that well in months," Halt confessed.

Lia smiled at him. "It was wonderful out there, Halt-I would like to go back someday," she said.

"We'll come back soon, I promise," he vowed. "As long as you remember to take the grass out of your hair."

Lia was about to reach up to search for the offending pieces of grass, but Halt beat her to it. "There-no one will know we were out here," he remarked.

Before they reached the door that led back into the gardens, Lia stopped Halt. "Thank you so much for last night," she whispered. "It was enjoyable, to leave Dun Kilty behind for a while."

"Glad you liked it," Halt murmured.

He stretched up to kiss her, pulling her closer to him as he ran a hand through her hair. "I'll see you tomorrow," he vowed.

"Until then, Halt," she replied before they walked through the door and back into Dun Kilty.

* * *

><p>Halt was finishing off his Toscan when he heard someone knock on his door. "Lia," her voice called.<p>

"Go ahead," Halt replied.

He heard her enter. "I thought you might want a bit of company-you look as if there are many things on your mind," she remarked, standing behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders.

He sighed heavily. "You don't know the half of it," he said. "My father's quite literally on his deathbed, and then Ferris..."

Lia was massaging his shoulders with a great intensity. "Lia...what are you doing?" he asked.

"I figured that you would have tension," she pointed out, as if her action was the most logical thing in the world.

Halt rolled his eyes at her, even though she couldn't see them. "You're spoiling me, you know," he muttered.

"You deserve it," she replied.

"Well, if you insist..."

Lia sniffed with amusement before asking, "Is it tomorrow that you and Ferris go fishing for...oh, what on earth are those fish called?"

Halt laughed. "Salmon-their name hasn't changed since yesterday," he remarked.

"If it were not spelled so strangely..." she muttered, distraught, massaging Halt's shoulders with a renewed fervor.

Halt bit back a smile. "You're the only person I know who gets this irate when you forget a word," he pointed out.

"That is because I studied at the best language school in the world for three years. I know Toscan, Araluan, Gallican, and Arridi fluently, I am proficient in the old Hibernian tongue, and I know bits of other languages. I did not learn of all of these languages by forgetting words," she said, sounding rather upset.

"Lia, you're fluent in _four languages_," Halt informed her. "I think you're allowed to forget a word on occasion."

"So you are suggesting that when I next see your brother, it would be acceptable for me to ask if he finished _that thing_ for me?"

"Only if you assigned it to him at _that place_ at _that time_ on_ that day_," Halt responded, his tone serious.

"You are completely impossible," she murmured. "To return to our previous topic of conversation, I hope that tomorrow goes well for you."

"As do I."

"You will be on my mind for every moment," she whispered into his ear.

Halt stood up, turned around, and kissed her with every ounce of passion that he possessed. He trailed kisses lightly down her neck before his mouth met hers once again. "Thanks, Lia," he murmured once their lips separated. "You're...so beautiful."

The words left his mouth before he could stop them. He'd avoided making any such comments on her appearance for fear that he'd accidentally offend her-she'd dealt with men who looked only at her body for several years and Halt figured that she wouldn't appreciate any sort of compliment on her appearance, even one spoken with honorable intentions. "Sorry Lia-I wasn't trying to offend you," he apologized quickly.

"Halt," she began, "I know that you say what you said from your mind and not in a frenzied moment of lust-which is why such compliments from you mean something to me."

He exhaled in relief. "I just didn't want you to have any reason to form a...connection," he explained.

Lia laughed. "If you think that I see any similarity between you and those...brigands, you do not think well enough of yourself."

"A wise woman once told me that praise is the enemy of progress."

Lia rolled her eyes at him. "I do not think she said it quite so well," she acknowledged.

"Either way, it's solid advice," he remarked.

"I am glad to know that I have taught you something," she said. "You have taught me things as well."

"Like?" Halt inquired.

"This," she responded.

And their lips met again.

* * *

><p>This was his moment, Halt realized as he and Ferris rowed away from the shore. It might seem like the day was Ferris's, but Halt was so relieved-he knew that today, everything would be settled.<p>

They rowed to an acceptable spot before dropping their lines into the water. "Blast it," Halt muttered when he saw that his line had tangled.

He leaned over in an attempt to untangle the line. He almost had it when-

_Splash!_

Halt was in the water, sinking down towards the weeds. Desperately, he paddled upwards, gasping as he came up for air. An oar from the boat came towards him; Halt reached desperately for it, hoping that Ferris could pull him at least a little closer to the boat.

_THWACK!_

The oar made a sickening noise as it hit Halt's right shoulder. He understood what Ferris was doing-he'd broken his word. This had been his intention all along and Halt felt foolish for trusting his brother, even though he'd given his word as a prince of Clonmel. He saw the oar come towards him again; this time he ducked away, avoiding it. Halt used his left arm and his legs to make his way back to shore. By the time he was there, Ferris was waiting with the boat, a convincing look of mock concern on his face. "Halt I-I didn't see you there. Are you all right?" Ferris inquired.

Halt merely glared at him, untainted anger in his eyes. "Don't even try, Ferris. We both know bloody well what you were trying to do," he growled.

Ferris's eyes hardened. "I gave my word as a prince of Clonmel to avoid foul play. This is not foul play-it's fate."

Halt burned with anger as he laid on the rocks, injured and dripping. "So this is how badly you want it?" Halt asked, his voice sharp as a knife. "You'd kill me, even after I told you I'd abdicate, just to be sure the throne was yours?"

"Don't trust anyone who stands in your way, Halt," Ferris snapped.

"And that's all I ever was to you, Ferris," he retorted.

* * *

><p>"Halt's hurt!"<p>

Caitlyn's exclamation burst through the door to Lia's chamber before she did. Before the tutor could respond in any way, Caitlyn continued, "They're saying he fell out of the boat and was accidentally hit by the oar of another boat, but I talked with Halt for a second and he told me it wasn't an accident. It was Ferris!"

Lia stood up so quickly that she knocked her chair over in the process. "Is there any way that I can see him?" she asked. "A secret passageway, a hidden door...something?"

If she hadn't been so worried, Caitlyn would've laughed. "You read too many stories," she remarked. "I think you can just...walk in, as long as you're bringing something useful. It's just the physician right now, after all."

"Thank you, Caitlyn, but I cannot walk into the room and demand to be left alone with the prince," Lia pointed out.

"Well, if you don't mind waiting for a while, you could bring something in-the physician probably won't be there for much longer," Caitlyn replied.

"I will get him coffee," Lia said. "Caitlyn, will you wait nearby and tell me if the physician is gone?"

"Of course," she replied. "I know you're worried, but they said he'd be all right."

Lia nodded. "Thank you, Caitlyn-for coming here to tell me," she called as she walked out the door.

* * *

><p>"I brought you coffee."<p>

Halt was sure he was dreaming as he watched Lia walk closer to his bed and set a cup down on his nightstand. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "_Parla toscano, per favore_."

He frowned-if Lia was telling him to speak Toscan, he obviously wasn't dreaming. "_Caitlyn mi dica che cosa è accaduto. Ho molta paura per te_, Halt," she revealed.

"_Anch'io_," he murmured. "_Ho bisogno di partire presto_."

"_Lo so_," she responded. "_Sai quando_?"

"_No, non lo so. E non posso dirlote perchè._..Ferris."

"I understand," she whispered. "And when you leave, I will...well, I am sure you know how I feel."

She sat gingerly beside him, her eyes wide and bright. "Do you know how long it will be for you to heal?" she wondered.

"The physician said about a month-it's fractured. But a lot could happen in that time," he replied.

Lia nodded. "I will leave you now," she told him gently. "Rest well."

She leaned over to kiss his forehead, hoping that he didn't notice the tears running down her face. She wanted to appear strong, but knowing that Halt would be leaving broke something inside of her. Her eyes squeezed shut as her lips pressed against his skin, trying to hold back the tears. One slid off of her face and onto Halt's chin.

"Lia," he murmured, "I'm not leaving yet-it'll be a little while. And when I do, I'm not going to stop loving you just because I'm gone."

She nodded quickly, turning her face away from him. "I know," she mumbled. "I will not forget you, Halt-I never could."

She stood up, wiped the tears from her face, and left. A part of Halt wished she could've stayed for longer, but he knew that she'd probably been with him for too long already. He didn't have much time left in Clonmel, but he'd give her as much of it as he could.

* * *

><p>It was hard for Lia not to punish Ferris.<p>

He was doing quite well in his lessons, of course, but now that he was so bent on becoming king of Clonmel that he'd made it his mission to kill Halt, Lia couldn't stand the sight of him. Ferris didn't have any idea how she felt, of course-she always hid that burning anger at their lessons. She was tempted to give him an impossible workload as a sort of silent punishment, but she reminded herself that it was her job to teach him Toscan. Her feelings for Halt shouldn't get in the way of that.

She was on her way out to the gardens for Halt's next lesson. Since he'd be leaving any day, Lia had decided to simply speak Toscan up to speed with him-he might end up needing it someday.

"Lovely, lovely Lia," Ferris singsonged as she passed him in the hall.

Lia felt her self-control snap as he brushed by her. She turned on her heel. "Ferris O'Carrick, I am _tired_ of your endless flirtation!" she cried. "You think that because you have fancied me for so long, you have some sort of _right_ to me, like I am a medal awarded to the man with the most endurance. I have lived with it for two years now in silence, hoping that you would understand-but you did not! No woman should be spoken to as you spoke to me."

She'd never seen Ferris look so shocked. He remembered that night, over a year ago when she'd slapped him; he saw that same look in her eyes now, so he did what he knew she feared-stepped progressively closer to her, pinning her against the wall. His eyes met hers for a second, but she was not afraid. In fact, she was glaring down at him like he was an insect.

"It's Halt. I know it is," Ferris muttered.

"Think what you want," she snapped, pushing him away as she continued down the hall.

* * *

><p>Halt was realizing that he'd have to leave soon, whether or not his shoulder was better. It had been a week and he was at least out of bed, but he knew that he couldn't wait the full month for it to heal-his father was too ill.<p>

He and Lia hadn't talked about his departure since she'd come to see him after Ferris's most recent murder attempt, but he knew that she was expecting him to leave at any moment, although she tried not to show signs of sorrow.

There was something different tonight. He suspected that this would be the last time he'd see Lia for a long while. It hurt, knowing that he'd have to leave her, but at least she understood why.

She walked into the gardens and sat on the bench beside Halt. "Lia, I love you," he reminded her gently, taking her hand in his.

"And I you," she whispered.

Lia had heard the term "heartbreak" thrown around a few times, but she'd never imagined actually being able to feel such a heaviness, a soreness in her chest. "_Mi fa male il cuore,_" she admitted, lowering her head in hopes that she could somehow hold back the tears searing at the edge of her eyes.

"Mine too," he responded, leaning towards her.

As their lips met, sorrow was forgotten for a few moments as they both reveled in the nearness to one another, the strength of their emotions, knowing that saying goodbye to one another would not end this. It couldn't-sometimes, love is stronger than distance.

"I will miss you," Lia confessed, intwining her fingers with Halt's. "The moments here with you...they were the best of my life, and nothing could make me forget them."

"Better than studying three languages at the same time?"

Lia smiled at him through her tears. "A thousand times better."

"I'll miss you as well. And I won't forget you either," Halt vowed.

They kissed once again, leaving the world behind as they delighted in these moments that they were sharing.

* * *

><p>The king was in critical condition.<p>

Of course, he hadn't exactly been skipping through meadows in the past few months, but he was now on death's doorstep.

Halt knew that it was time to go; he also knew that with his fractured shoulder, he couldn't make all the preparations alone. He ran to Caitlyn's chambers and entered without knocking, hoping that she was there. Fortunately, she was. "I need your help, Cait - I'm going," he told her.

He could see tears welling up in her eyes from across the room, but she reacted well. "I'll go and get you food-get anything you need from your room. We'll meet up there and I'll get you out," she declared, already walking out of her chambers and towards the kitchens.

Halt followed her out of the room. He fell into step beside his sister for a while before she asked him, "Why me?"

He understood that she was really wondering, _Why not Lia?_ "You know how it'd go with her, Cait," he explained. "We'd take forever."

Caitlyn nodded before their ways parted.

Halt packed light-he only carried an extra set of clothing and his cloak. He paced around his chambers impatiently as he waited for Caitlyn to get back-now that he was getting ready to go, he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. He tried to keep his mind clear of everything he'd miss about Hibernia-thinking of those things would only make leaving more difficult.

"Ready?" Caitlyn asked.

She proceeded to dump the contents of her arms into Halt's pack. "I picked things that aren't too heavy, since you'll be carrying this on one shoulder. And I managed to grab you this," she declared, pulling what was either a tiny sword or a giant knife out of the pile.

"Thanks, Cait," he murmured, slipping the weapon's scabbard onto his belt. "Let's go."

They walked through the halls as if it were the most normal thing ever-if people saw them, perhaps they'd ignore the fact that Halt was carrying a pack and a weapon. Their passage through the castle was relatively uneventful, as was their trip through the gardens. When they reached the hidden door, Halt and Caitlyn stopped. "Cait...I'm going to miss you so much," he told her, embracing her as tightly as he could.

"Me too," she sniffled. "You're the best brother, Halt. I love you."

"Love you too, Cait," he murmured, squeezing her one last time before letting her go. "When you get a chance, tell Lia this: '_Ti amo moltissimo_.' Make sure you say it in Toscan - that's important."

Caitlyn's expression softened. "She's going to miss you, probably almost as much as I'll miss you," she said.

Halt embraced his sister one last time. "I'll never forget any of this, Cait-I couldn't ask for a better sister. Someday, when it's safe, I'll be back," he promised.

"I'll be waiting," she whispered. "Go."

Reluctantly, Halt walked through the door and out of Dun Kilty, leaving everything he'd ever known behind.

* * *

><p>Lia was surprised to hear a knock on her door-it was still fairly early. The only person who might come to see her at this time was Halt-and he usually just called for her. She arose and opened the door to find Caitlyn. Her eyes were bloodshot-Lia suspected that she'd been up all night crying. There was only one reason Caitlyn would come here like this.<p>

Lia beckoned her in, closing the door behind her. "He's gone?" she asked.

"Mmhm," Caitlyn mumbled, beginning to cry again.

Hot tears sprung to Lia's eyes as she embraced the young princess, hoping that she could somehow be a comfort to this poor girl. Neither of them said anything for a long while; they simply stood there, crying. Eventually, Caitlyn murmured, "He wanted me to tell you this: '_Ti amo moltissimo_.'"

Lia inhaled with shock-Halt never spoke Toscan to her outside of their lessons, unless it was for privacy's sake. He knew that she missed hearing Toscan, although her memories of Toscana weren't always of the most pleasant things. _He wanted me to hear it in my own language_, she realized, her tears coming more quickly now.

"There is nothing that could have meant more than that," Lia said, choked by her tears.

There was a moment of semi-silence before Caitlyn added, "His pronunciation was even perfect."

Her tutor laughed through her tears. "Then I know that he will not forget me so easily."

* * *

><p><em>Ricordati di stanotte, perchè quest'oggi è l'inizio dell'eternità<em> - Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always (not an original quote; it's the property of Dante, the wonderful man who wrote _La Divina Commedia_)

_parla toscano, per favore_ - speak Toscan, please

_Caitlyn mi dica che cosa è accaduto. Ho molta paura per te_ - Caitlyn told me what happened. I'm very afraid for you (lit. "I have much fear for you," for meaning "directed towards your situation," not "directed at")

_anch'io_ - me too

_ho bisogno di partire presto_ - I need to leave soon

_Lo so_ - I know

_sai quando_ - do you know when?

_No, non lo so. E non posso dirlote perchè_ - No, I don't know. And I can't tell you it because...

_mi fa male il cuore_ - my heart hurts

_ti amo moltissimo_ - I love you a lot/very much

**A/N: Now that you're all saddened, go read a happy fic, like _One in a Million _by Dodo 123, the chapters "Halt's Wedding Night" and "Will and Gilan Annoy Halt" from Lady Wallace's _Ranger Shorts_, _Ranger Halt: Owner's Guide and Manual_ by Caramel Cheesecake, or (sheesh, I feel like I'm doing a really sloppy bibliography or something) _Green Oakleaf_ or _Ranger Corps: Men in Cloaks_, both by yours truly.**

**If you didn't cry (or even sniffle with sorrow a little bit)...well, you're less mushy than me.**


	9. Epilogue Pt I: Signorina

**A/N: Wow...so close to the end. It makes me sad, but I'm working on the follow-up, which should tie up any loose ends left hanging by the epilogues.**

**Thank you so, so SO much to all of my wonderfully epic and magical reviewers-you have made many days shine with radiant light. Also, you've made _Cadere_ my most reviewed story. (Did anyone else remember what "cadere" means? Hint: it was also the title of chapter eight, which was why I named that chapter thusly...tutto sta cadendo [everything is falling].)**

**I hope you enjoy this ending (well, the first part of it at least) and again, thank you for reading! :) Also, I hope everyone has a fantabulous weekend. :)  
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**I don't own _Ranger's Apprentice_. Dang.**

* * *

><p>Three Months Later<p>

The king—Ferris and Halt's father—had died two and a half months ago. Since Halt could not be found anywhere in Hibernia, the crown had gone to Ferris, who was enjoying his new position of power. However, there was still one thing that he wanted—the one thing that he hadn't been able to take once Halt had left.

Lia.

For a while after becoming king, Ferris had continued to go to his Toscan lessons; the only difference had been that Lia addressed him as "my liege" or "your majesty." Eventually, though, he had told Lia that he was king and didn't need to learn any more Toscan. As usual, she'd shown no emotion at this order. As far as Ferris knew, she was still teaching Caitlyn, which meant that her days were relatively empty—a perfect opportunity for Ferris.

* * *

><p>The last place Lia wanted to be going was to Ferris's chambers. However, he was her king and he'd summoned her, so she was obliged to go.<p>

She hadn't fully recovered from Halt's sudden departure; oftentimes, she'd feel her eyes fill with tears after a certain thought of him. Even though he'd been gone for a while, she still wore her Claddagh ring with the point facing in—she wasn't ready to move on, not even in this small way. For almost a full month after his departure, she'd gone to bed early, hoping that she'd find some sort of peace from her constant worry and heartache with sleep. It never worked—more often than not, she'd recall every moment that she and Halt had shared, which only deepened her sorrow.

If it wasn't for Caitlyn, Lia would've felt completely alone in this situation. Oftentimes, the two young women would spend their free hours talking, trying to distract one another from thoughts of Halt. It was a better remedy than anything Lia could do alone, and she'd been grateful for the princess on several occasions.

Seeing Ferris didn't help the situation. At least he'd quit his lessons a few months ago, which had made it easier for Lia to avoid him. _Io posso farlo_, she encouraged herself as she knocked firmly on the door to Ferris's chambers.

She was somewhat surprised to see that Ferris opened the door himself, grinning in a way that made Lia highly uncomfortable. She wished he'd summoned her to the throne room-it was so much more open. Besides, whenever the previous king had met with her to discuss the progress of his children, he'd summoned her to the throne room and not his private quarters.

"Your majesty," she addressed him, curtsying.

"You always insisted on equality when you were my tutor-in situations like this one, you may call me Ferris," he told her.

"Very well, Ferris," she replied.

There was a moment of silence before Ferris began to explain, "Lia, the past few months have been...difficult. I lost my father and my brother within the same month, and now I am king-but it all seems so empty."

_The only thing more empty than that statement is your heart_, Lia thought, a sharp needle of sorrow cutting through her.

He continued, "I have realized that I need...someone else to help me forget thing sometimes...someone that I can be _very close to_, if you take my meaning."

Ferris was standing closer to Lia than propriety allowed. She moved away from him slowly, hoping that he wasn't suggesting what she thought he was. "I am afraid that I am not quite understanding," she admitted, praying that somehow she was wrong.

"I'm offering to make you my mistress, Lia. You could live in comfort right here in Dun Kilty, and you could still tutor Caitlyn-I don't think I'd have need of you _that_ often," he clarified, smirking.

"No."

Ferris hadn't been prepared for such a flat-out refusal. "Lia, you really will benefit from this. You could move up in society-make all the other ladies jealous...maybe even form some connections with some people who'd be able to use your Toscan skills," he added, hoping to entice her.

When she didn't respond, he played his vilest card.

"Besides, I'm sure you did the same thing with Halt _plenty_ of times."

If it wasn't for Lia's impeccable self-control, Ferris would've had a broken nose. "Begging your pardon, but why are you so obsessed with this relationship that I supposedly had with your brother?" she wondered, managing to keep her tone relatively even.

"Why not me?"

"My liege, has it ever occurred to you that I have not accepted your advances simply because I do not find you attractive in any sense?" Lia replied, her tone sharper than before.

Again, Ferris was silent—he hadn't expected her to say that. "But we're _identical_," he insisted.

Lia laughed; Ferris suspected that her laughter was done in mockery. "You really do not understand the heart of a relationship. If there ever was anything between Halt and me, it was because I found his personality appealing," she clarified.

"If time is what you want, I'm willing to keep things…less physical until you're ready," Ferris suggested. He wasn't giving up until she agreed.

"Have I not made myself clear? I will _not_ be your mistress!" Lia exclaimed.

"Fine—if you don't want to, just pretend I'm Halt. As I've told you before, we're identical—and you've had a good amount of practice with him, I'm sure."

It was Lia's turn to stare at Ferris. She'd heard plenty of slurs from men in Toscana, but nothing cut her as deeply as this one. "It is not your business to know these things, but since you insist on an explanation, Halt and I never did what you are suggesting—nor will I do these things with you," she retorted, her voice harsh and dangerous.

"If you want it to be like this, fine. I didn't want to push things this far, but you're not exactly giving me a choice. Become my mistress or lose your job—choose now," Ferris snapped.

"I will go pack my things then," she declared with no hesitation. "I have enjoyed my position as a tutor to the royal family and wish you luck in your search for a replacement."

Without another word, she turned around and left, leaving a very shocked Ferris in her wake.

* * *

><p>Lia sat in a tavern with a glass of wine in front of her. She had refrained from drinking it in most of her time in Hibernia—wine wasn't as common here as it was in Toscana. However, after losing her job and being reminded of Halt, she felt like she needed something to remind her of her homeland.<p>

"Long day, lassie?" the barmaid, a middle-aged woman asked her.

Lia laughed bitterly. "If only that was all," she lamented. "It has been a long three months."

The barmaid looked at her sympathetically. "Lost your man?" she asked.

"As well as my job and my home," Lia added.

The woman clucked sympathetically. "What was it that you did, lassie?"

"I was the Toscan tutor for the royal family."

The woman frowned and shook her head. "I can't offer something quite so nice, but I do have children who'll need some help learning a language. If you do that, I can give you a room up in the inn, and if you find you're wantin' some more work, you can help out down here," she offered.

Lia didn't often make decisions so quickly, but she wanted to find work before any possible court gossip about her nonexistent "dealings" with Ferris leaked its way out into the world. "That would work beautifully—thank you very much," Lia agreed.

* * *

><p><em>io posso farlo<em> - I can do it


	10. Epilogue Pt II: Formation

**A/N: There's a little part of me that's dying with the knowledge that this is the end of this story-I had a lot of fun writing it. A follow-up should be out soon-ish, but right now my muse is feeling spastic, so I don't know exactly how soon I'll have that done. Either way, it'll be called _L'amor che move il sole_, which is a famous Italian (a very old form of Italian) line from the poem _La Divina Commedia_ by Dante Alighieri. It translates to "the love that moves the sun." So yeah, keep your eyes peeled for that-it'll wrap up the loose ends left hanging by _Cadere_.**

**Also, thank you a million times over to everyone who read and reviewed this story-nothing makes me happier than coming back to read your comments after I post a chapter. I couldn't ever thank you enough. :) Although remember...your feedback made me keep writing; I hope to eventually become a bestselling author of epic fantasy novels, so in a way, you're fueling my career. :D**

**In other news, I'm waiting to finish the next chapter of _Men in Cloaks_ and I'm starting some interesting Gilan stuff, which you'll hopefully start seeing sometime next week (I started writing this years ago and it wasn't bad, but I came up with an entirely new plot with mostly the same characters, so I'm working on revamping that). Also, I had another romance with Halt ("romance" meaning "romantic-themed story" not an actual moment of love with me and our favorite grumpy Ranger or something...although I totally wouldn't complain if that happened, especially since "another" would imply that it's happened before...), but that needs a lot of cleaning up if I'm ever going to post it. It has some good scenes, but there's the whole female Ranger cliche and some pieces don't quite fit, so...I don't know.**

**Anyhow, I'm going to stop prattling on an on and give you the epilogue part two! Enjoy and review! Because reviews are food for my soul.**

**I don't own _Ranger's Apprentice_. Drat.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Five Months After Leaving Hibernia<strong>_

Halt was finally getting used to his new life in Araluen—that was where he'd eventually ended up after leaving his homeland. He'd taken to traveling around, finding food and shelter wherever he could. Life was easier now that his shoulder was back to normal, but he felt a sense of emptiness inside. Some days, there was nothing to fill Halt's time, which was when he took to thinking about Lia. He still missed her, but at least he didn't feel it with the piercing sharpness he'd felt immediately after leaving Hibernia.

Now, he was in a tavern sitting in a corner, thinking about what to do for the fall and winter-he couldn't keep sleeping outside unless he wanted to die in a very slow and painful fashion-which he didn't.

He watched as a couple walked in, if they could be called that. The woman looked terrified and the man was practically dragging her along. "_Rilassa_," Halt herd him growl to her in a very unromantic fashion.

Immediately, he recognized the language as Toscan, vaguely surprised that he'd actually found a use for all those pointless hours of lessons. Sensing tension, Halt watched them carefully from under the hood of his cloak, waiting for them to take their seats. They chose a table not far from Halt, who listened closely to their conversation.

"_Mangiamo prima di fare sesso. Bene_?" the man stated. His accent was awful and his words plodded slowly out of his mouth; Halt suspected that he'd been taught by someone with a shoddy knowledge of the language.

"_No, non è bene_!" the woman exclaimed vehemently. "_T'oddio moltissimo, t'oddio con tutto del mio cuore...ed il mio corpo_!" The language flowed easily from her lips, which meant that either she was a native speaker or she'd learned the language from someone who actually knew it.

"_Silenzio_!" the man hissed. Halt figured he was only being softer with his language because he didn't know how to say "shut up" in Toscan. "_È necessario. Tu corpo è mio_."

Halt felt the need to intervene, mainly because he didn't want to know what the man would do to the poor woman, but partially because he heard Lia's voice in his mind, correcting the man's awful Toscan.

"_Scusa_," he said, approaching the man's table, "_ma credo che stai aggravando questa donna_."

Halt's accent was still slightly off, but his pronunciation was impeccable-much better than what the man spoke. "_Ho ragione_?" Halt asked, looking at the woman.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly. The gesture was still too obvious-it attracted the attention of the man. "So you think you can order me around just because you know another language?" the man snarled, standing and drawing himself to his full height.

Beside him, Halt, who was built compactly, looked puny. "No, but you seem to think you've somehow earned that right," Halt replied quietly. He didn't want to draw too much attention to the situation.

The man's face turned a violent shade of red. Halt prepared himself for the fight that was coming, hoping that there would be no damage to his right shoulder-one fracture had been bad enough.

"All right, why don't we just settle down and take this outside?"

The speaker, a young man with sandy blonde hair, had stepped noiselessly between Halt and the other man. This only made the man more furious. "I ain't stoppin' what I do because of two boys!" he nearly shouted, his face purple with rage.

_Lia'd murder him, now that he's botched two languages_, Halt realized.

"Really?" the fair-hared fellow replied. Turning to Halt, he asked, "I wonder...would he stop if everyone here was against what he was doing?"

Halt glanced around and saw almost every eye in the establishment upon the three fellows. "I doubt it," he remarked dryly.

"That's what I thought," the blonde chap said to Halt. "How do you feel about leaving now?" he asked the man.

The man, knowing that he wasn't in a position to protest, left the tavern with what remained of his dignity.

"Well done," the sandy-haired boy said to Halt, shaking his hand. "We've been tracking his group for weeks-there's a whole ring of men like him who've been terrorizing this area. I would've stepped in here, but I didn't think this one spoke Araluan."

"I'm glad he did for his sake," Halt replied. "His Toscan is awful."

"I have a feeling you could be very helpful," the blonde boy replied. "My name's Crowley, by the way."

"I'm Halt," he replied, shaking Crowley's hand.

As they walked out of the tavern side by side, Crowley mused, "Halt, I have a feeling that you and I are going to make an excellent team."

* * *

><p><em>rilassa<em> - relax

_Mangiamo prima di fare sesso. Bene?_ - We eat before having sex. Good/Okay? (sorry for the blunt-ness of that...)

_No, non è bene!_ - No, it's not good/okay!

_T'oddio moltissimo, t'oddio con tutto del mio cuore...ed il mio corpo_! - I hate you so much, I hate you with all of my heart...and my body!

_silenzio_ - silence

_È necessario. Tu corpo è mio_ - It's necessary. You (it's supposed to be "your") body is mine

_scusa_ - excuse me (informal)

_ma credo che stai aggravando questa donna_ - ...but I believe that you are aggravating this woman

_ho ragione_ - I'm right (lit. "I have reason";with a question mark, it'd be more like, "Am I right?" which would make the literal translation, "Do I have reason?")


End file.
